Masters' Poison
by Anna-mathe
Summary: (FFIV)Masamune gets weird and an ancient evil that roams the eart every few thousand years stop by for a nasty visit!
1. Prelude

NOTE: This fic, like all my other FF fics, are based solely off the gameplay, my own ideas, and Clovis' subconscious

NOTE:This fic, like all my other FF fics, are based solely off the gameplay, my own ideas, and Clovis' subconscious (except for those that aren't).This means all "official information" released on the characters is null, unless they mentioned it in the American version of the game.So don't yell at me because Cecil's hair is purple!

Also NOTE: this fic has been ripped and re-ripped and revamped and mutilated for over three years.Not much of the original is left, but I'm sick of screwing with it and decided to post it as is.So there may be a few discrepancies that I haven't noticed – if you find any, let me know and I'll promptly eat a hot dog.

Timeline - a few months after "Black Lighting and Red Eyes".

)---------- Masters' Poison ----------(

By Anna-mathe

_She continued to just kneel there, motionless, as the tall figure soared down behind her, silver hair flowing, driving the blade through her body, and let out the smallest cry as she felt the blade pierce through her -_

_Masamune._

Masamune.

Edge woke up with a jolt.Rubbing his eyes and looking around in the darkness, he sighed and realized that it was just a dream.

Just another dream.

Just another dream circling around the stupid sword.

Unbeknownst to anyone other than himself, Masamune had been plaguing his subconscious with similar dreams ever since he'd aquired the darn thing.Various dreams taking place in various places, apparently in various different times, but everything circling around it.

_Why just Masamune?Whatever happened to Murasame?Or is it content to just sit there?_

Whatever the case may have been, he decided to blow off the concept and, stuffing his head under his pillow, went back to sleep.


	2. In Which, Edge discovers dirty work afoo...

1)---------- In Which, Edge discovers dirty work afoot.

1)---------- In Which, Edge discovers dirty work afoot.

Baron was a mess, bluntly speaking.

Zeromus's coup had left the City and the Castle both a wreck.A defenseless wreck.The Castle Guard, after eliminating the agents found planted by the enemy, was at less than half its acceptable strength, and those left were either recovering from the effects of the brainwashing or just plain confused.Few things were worse than a Castle full of very edgy warriors.The City Guard was likewise a wreck – while weeding out enemy agents Cecil and his chums had also unearthed more corruption in the ranks than bears speaking of.Those who remained were likewise confused – and many of them just plain stupid.

The Gatekeepers and Sentries were mainly intact, but much abashed that the whole takeover had happened.They refrained from extensive comment.

The armies were crushed.Not only had the elite forces been utterly vanquished, but the standard battalions and cohorts were reduced to straggling the remains of 24 major forces into 3 barely active units.

The Night Watchmen . . . well, out of the seven of them, the only that was sober enough to give a clear report made it plain that they didn't care _who_ was in charge, they never did, and probably never would.Being as low on the hierarchical ladder as they were, changes in command rarely affected them. 

The Executioner was doing quite well, thank you.

Since Kain had acquired the Baronian army under his own command (somewhat against his will), he'd found himself responsible for repopulating the depleting forces, recruiting and training as many new soldiers as possible.Some of the more promising prospects had even been selected for training as Knights and Dragoons, the elite forces which had so quickly vanished from the Kingdom of which they had once been the pride, although the concept of Dark Knights was being left alone for the time.

That was another matter, and someone else's problem.

At first, he'd found the process more aggravating than anything else.

(A lippy recruit flips his lid: "I don't have to stand for this crap!!"

Kain rounded on him furiously.

"I don't have to stand for this crap, _SIR_!!" he shouted, knocking the snooty youth upside the head."_GET BACK IN THE DRILL BEFORE I DRILL **YOU**!!!!_")

In fact, several castle servants had seen him at times wandering corridors aimlessly and mumbling about how much he hated stupid people.

("There're too many morons in the world, not enough people!I hate stupid people!I hate stupid people, I _hate stupid people!")_

But now, several months later, they were finally falling in line, and beginning to shape up a bit.He still didn't like it, but reminded himself that it was only temporary - just until they managed to find an actual replacement.

("Cecil, I'm not a Drill Sgt.I hate this.I really _hate_ this!"

"Sorry.The simple fact of the matter is that you're better than anyone else.Train yourself a replacement and be done with it."

"They're morons.I'm beginning to wonder if I'd ever trust any of them in a command position."

"Then you're stuck with it."

"Darn you."

"Ahem."

"Darn you, Your _Majesty_."

"Consider me darned.Sir.")

As it was, the Royal Guard had been all but vanquished, as had most of the battalions and other means of defense.They weren't _so bad off, though.After all, there were the Redwings . . ._

"I don't like to be paranoid," Cecil told him one morning over breakfast, "but the sooner we get a working army together, the better."

"Why?" he'd reasonably wanted to know."I mean, we can easily handle any monster attacks on the town - "

"It's not that."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not saying anything.I'm just repeating what other people are saying."

Kain stabbed a piece of burned toast mercilessly with his butter knife.

"And euh, what are other people saying?"

"That Eblan's preparing to attack us."

Rosa groaned and ignored them.

"Eblan?!" Kain had repeated, aghast."Why would they attack us?Edge wouldn't go for it."

"It's not Edge that I'm worried about."

"Huh?"

Cecil shrugged.

"Look at it this way.The advisors in this Kingdom are so freaked out that they've even gotten _me_ worried.I'd hate to think what Kormag's pulling over there.If their situation is anything like ours, they've got a few good leaders, and a lot of old leaders still bent on world domination.The moment Edge makes the slightest mistake, all heck's gonna break loose."He scratched his head."Of course, the same goes for us, I suppose."

"Don't worry," Kain told him, giving his toast one last, fatal stab.Victory.How sweet."Basic survival training - ignoring belligerent politicians.But in case anything does happen, we'll be ready."The shreds of burned bread took to the air as a sudden wind entered the room."Dang it, there goes my toast."

Eblan had been at war with Baron for over a hundred years.While the violence had ended after the Redwings had destroyed Eblan and driven away its occupants, and their leaders joined forces to defeat Zeromus and officially ended the war, there were still too many people who harbored differences with the other Kingdom.Putting it mildly.Very mildly.Poor Cecil and Edge were stuck dealing with it.There was much rolling of eyes and gnashing of teeth.

One matter had ended up in a joint council with the two Kingdoms' leaders and advisors at Damcyan, because neither could agree on one place or the other.Edward had stepped in, realizing that soon Edge and Cecil wouldn't be able to prevent their people from going to war over where to hold the peace meeting, and offered his Kingdom's facilities, later telling his two friends in an undertone that he thought the whole business was pathetic.They agreed.

The matter under discussion was that of lands conquered by Baron in the later part of the war.The Eblanians were demanding compensation, and the Baronians were denying any such thing.Most of the deliberations were being done by Uriat, the Baronian Chancellor, and Kormag, his Eblanian counterpart.Cecil and Edge were trying to stay awake.

"If we're supposedly at peace," Kormag was pointing out, "then you should realize that many of our rightful people wish to return to our jurisdiction, and you should release the lands conquered unlawfully to us."

"Unlawfully?" Uriat had spat."We kicked your sorry @#$%es!Nothing unlawful about that!"

They'd gone on and on and on, until Edge finally blew his top.

"Listen, stupid politicians!" he snarled, standing and jamming Murasame and Masamune into the table in an impressive show of authority, "you're wasting time!!Why can't you get it through your heads?!You're morons!!Uriat," he now directed to the Baronian, "if conquered people wish to return to Eblan jurisdiction, let them.That's their right.And Kormag, wipe that stupid grin off your face.You know very well that after rebuilding the Kingdom, we couldn't even _support that land even if we did regain it!The people there are in better hands remaining in Baron's territory, and you know it bloody well."_

Kormag looked like he was about to choke, horrified that Edge had named such a weakness out in front of their "enemies".

As if everyone didn't know it already.

Uriat seethed, but looked to Cecil for confirmation.

"You heard 'im," Cecil sighed."Makes sense to me."

In a huff, everyone had stormed out of the room then, leaving it to the three kings.

Edge shook his head.

"Cecil, I'm gonna put this in the mildest way possible - being a King can really suck."

After considering that, Cecil had to agree.

"But what are you going to do?" Edward had then asked."Your people are out for blood.It's just a matter of time before they find a way to get it."

"Or just a matter of time before they grow up and get over it," Edge replied."Sorry about the table, Eddie.Needed to make a point."He retrieved his two swords and noted the gashes they'd made in the table.

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks.Okay, I'll be leaving now.Stay on your toes, Cecil.All heck's getting ready to break loose."

"Don't I know it."

At first, when Zeromus had been defeated, it seemed like things were going to stay calm for a long time.Even up through the incident a few months ago with Borthus manifesting Kain's sibling (half sibling), the citizens of both Kingdoms had been able to stomach working together.

Now, though, things were getting edgy again.So, Kain had tightened up his training, hoping to get some decent fighters in the army soon.

Very soon.

Which was hard, considering that most of his students were, well, stupid.

"They're not stupid," Rosa had informed him after his first training session."It's just that you're not used to being a teacher, Kain."

"Explain."

"Well," she said, searching through her spell books for something to relieve that terrible headache that had set in for the Dragoon, "you've never had to do it before.That's all there it is to it.I mean, you're used to being with others in your league.That's where you've always been placed.And now, you have to go back to the bare essentials, and you don't remember what it's like to be a beginner anymore.You'll settle in, and they'll improve, don't worry.And in any case, it'll be better once we replace Baigan and Rorunar and the others, and you don't have so many to worry about.I have a feeling that you, as a Dragoon, will be much happier when it's actually Dragoons you're training."

And she'd tossed him a vile of headache painkillers and sent him on his way.

There were seven recruits which he soon realized weren't quite as stupid as the rest.In fact, they were pretty good, considering . . . well, never mind.A question told him that they had been the highest in their class before so many tragedies had struck the kingdom in the days before he and Cecil had set out on their quest.They had, in fact, passed Rorunar's testing session shortly before the old Dragoon's demise.

"We wanted to be Dragoons, like you," one of them, Thomas, had said.

Kain instantly tagged him as a suck up and let him continue.

"Next season we were supposed to be taken in for training.Only then . . . well . . . King Cecil . . . "

And so, in the realization that he was, indeed, the last person in the Kingdom with the exact training and code of a Dragoon (however restricted), he took these seven individuals under his wing and put them in a separate class - to repopulate the world with specialized fighters.

He wasn't at all sure he liked teaching.It wasn't in his bag.But he knew it had to be done.There was much more rolling of eyes and gnashing of teeth.

Twelve students had been selected to train for Knighthood, as well.But they were another story, and someone else's problem.After all, Kain had no intention of mixing with Knights.

The others in his classes were kept in basic soldier training, and while they _were shaping up a bit, they still remained as stupid as ever.Kain prayed that Cecil would find a trainer for them soon, before his brain was forever fried._

Meanwhile, Rydia was left as the only Caller left on the planet by recent events (except for an old codger known as Fred), and knew that if she didn't jam some knowledge in a few kids' heads, the trade was going to be lost for good.While it had used to be that the only Callers were those of her village, the village was now gone, as were all its people, and so she took it all over the world.At the moment, she was training four, one in Baron, one in Eblan, one in Damcyan, and one in Fabul.Toroia wanted nothing to do with it.

On this day, she was in Eblan with her student, Timothy.Timothy had a good head on his shoulders, but had no real common sense at all.Perhaps that was on oxymoron.All right, perhaps _Timothy was a moron.In any case, he had been under the impression that if he was a Caller, he'd get to Summon up Leviathan and Bahamut right away.It had taken her over a month to convince him that almost no one got to Summon Leviathan and Bahamut, and that there was little or no chance that __he would get the honor._

He hadn't been happy and almost dropped the whole thing, but his parents didn't like that, so he was stuck with her, learning the basics of Caller magic, as well as simple Callings such as Chocobo.

"But who cares about Calling some stupid bird?" he whined.

Rydia got an evil look in her eyes.

"That 'stupid bird' is my _friend_," she snapped.

He shut up.

On this afternoon, she ended her class a little early and headed for the Castle to check in with Edge.Although his flirtatious attitude annoyed her severely, she still felt it only decent that she let him know she was there, and see if he had any messages for her to take to the other Kingdoms on her rounds before she returned to the Land of Summoned Monsters.

The guards let her pass, acknowledging her with their usual coolness, which she didn't understand, but had learned to accept.For some reason, they just didn't like her.She hunted quickly through the Castle, but was unable to find the young King, so she finally decided to check his room.

"Edge?" she asked, pushing the door open a crack.

"Yeah?" came a grumpy voice.

"It's me."

"Oh?Oh!C'mon in, Rydia."

She pushed the door the rest of the way open and found him sitting at a small table, staring studiously at his two Swords.The curtains were drawn closed, and the only light in the room was from the small oil lamp in front of him.

"You know all about black magic," he greeted her without looking up."Take a look at this."

Wondering that he didn't even say hello, she walked beside him.

"What am I looking at?" she asked.

"This," he replied, picking up Masamune."What do you think?"

She raised her eyebrows.

"It's a Sword, Edge," she informed him.

"You think?" he quipped with a slight smirk."What about this?"And now he picked up Murasame.

"Why, it's also a Sword.Is this some sort of scheme, Edge?Because if you're just trying to get me to - "

"No, no, no, nothing like that, Rydia, I'm serious."He stood up and turned up the wick on the lamp."These both came from the Lunarian palace, right?"

"Yeah.I was there, I know."

"So was I.But I'm not so sure.I mean, I'm not so sure that's where they came from."

Rydia plopped down in his recently vacated seat.

"Where else could they have come from?Anyway, Fred said they were - "

"I wouldn't trust that old coot as far as I could throw an Airship.He doesn't have a clue."

"All right."Rydia crossed one leg over the other and made herself comfortable."What gives you that idea?"

"This."

He held Masamune in front of her.

"Look closely at the base of the blade.What do you see?"

She squinted at the Sword and tried to focus on a small and slightly blurry inscription.

"I see a small and slightly blurry inscription."

"Yeah, don't try to read it.After all, it's from an alien language, right?"

"No . . . " she turned the blade slightly as he continued to hold it in front of her, "no, I definitely recognize it, but it's probably blurry from being so old - "

"How could you recognize it unless it was of Earth origin?"

That stumped her.

"I've seen this - in the Land of Summoned Monsters!In the library!" she suddenly realized.All those years she'd spent poring over the ancient texts suddenly paid off.

"I figured as much.So how could an ancient Sword from our planet find its way to a Lunarian Palace?"

"I couldn't say," she admitted."But I don't see the big deal."

He made a pained expression.

"I'm not exactly sure.But Murasame, at least, seems harmless.Or not dangerous."

"Edge - they're both very dangerous.They're Swords."

"Yeah . . . I guess they are."

"You guess?"

His reply was cut off by a sudden burst of wind that extinguished the light in the room.For a brief, astonished moment, they were both silent in the absolute darkness.

"Put the light back on, Edge," Rydia then said in a firm voice, before he got any ideas.

"Right . . . the light . . . "

There was the sound of a match being struck, and then he re-lit the lamp.

"Okay.The light's back on.The . . . light . . . . . . . light . . . . "

"Edge, are you feeling okay?"Rydia was growing concerned, not only by his strange dialogue, but by the fact that he hadn't attempted to flirt with her once since her arrival.

He shook his head.

"Nope.Not at all."

"What do you mean when you say at least Murasame seems harmless?Is there something wrong with Masamune?"

The light was blown out again.

"Where the heck is that wind coming from, Edge?!The windows are closed!"

"I know."

He re-lit the light again.

"I'm not sure exactly what is wrong here, Rydia, but Masamune is beginning to really freak me out," he confided.

The light blew out again.

"Will you cut it out!?!?!" he shouted into the air.

The light re-lit itself.

Rydia jumped.

"Okay, that's it, this is weird," she pronounced."Edge, I'm opening the curtains!"

"Go for it.I'm not the one who shut them."

"Huh?" she asked, pulling a set open.The moment she released the fabric, they snapped shut again."Ah, I see what you mean.And you think this is all because of Masamune?"

The light went out.

"Does _that answer your question?" he wryly asked._

"When did all this start?" she cried into the darkness.

"It started a long time ago!Ever since the first night I had that thing, it's been giving me nightmares!You wouldn't believe some of these things!Every one of them centering around the stupid sword, so today, I finally got sick of it and tried to examine the danged thing, and the moment I did, it started screwing with things!"

"So Masamune doesn't want you finding out certain things about it?" she proposed.

The light came back on, this time burning red.

"Oh, give it a rest," she snapped.

"Seems likely to me," he agreed.

The light went back out.

"Erm, Edge, I suggest we leave now," she said, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Good idea."

"Um, which way is the door?"

"Ahhhh . . . "

There were a few moments of stumbling and tripping over various pieces of furniture, and then they tripped over each other and onto the table.The light came back on.

"Ow," Rydia mumbled, regaining her footing.

"Sorry," Edge apologized."I guess Masamune doesn't have very good social skills."

"Ha."She reached for the Sword."I wonder - AAAAAH!"

The moment she picked up Masamune, it released a charge that sent her flying across the room.Then it hung there, hovering about four feet in the air, glowing softly.

Edge glared at it.

"Stop it!" he snapped."Leave her alone, you ninny!"To Rydia, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, picking herself up.

"Hmm."He reached forward and took the hilt in his hand."YOW!" he exclaimed.As he took a grip on the Sword, a jolt ran through his body, and the next thing he knew, he was charging across the room, swinging the Sword dramatically at Rydia, trying to slice her head off!

"Hey!!!!" she yelled, evading him."What do you think you're doing, you stupid Ninja?!"

"Good question!" he yelled back, trying in vain to get control of his own body."It's - it's controlling _me now!"_

"Woah!!!"Rydia kept running in circles, and he kept running after her.Finally, he yelled, "Duck!" and she turned to see the Sword flying through the air at her -

Edge regained control of his form as soon as Masamune left his grasp, and, realizing his target, did the only thing he could do - he covered his eyes.

The sound of metal hitting wood was heard, so he figured it hadn't hit her, so he uncovered his eyes and looked.

Rydia was sitting plopped on the floor, looking up frantically.Masamune was embedded in her thick green hair, keeping her attached to the wall.

"Crud!" he exclaimed, running over to her."Are you okay?!"

"I'm not bleeding . . . so I guess so . . . "She tore her gaze away from the Sword stuck a few inches away from her head to the Ninja who knelt in front of her."Don't just stand there - get that thing out of my hair!"

He flexed his fingers nervously.

"And if I do, Masamune might take control of me again," he pointed out.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well."

"Hmm."

"Uh . . . "

"Listen, Rydia," he said, "the door's right over there.I'm gonna pull that thing out, and the moment I do, I want you to get the heck out of here, and go get Cecil and Kain.They've also got Crystal Weapons - if even Masamune isn't _actually one of the Crystal Weapons, but maybe they'll know what to do about this.Shut the door after you and bolt it.I don't want to take the chance of killing somebody accidentally."_

"Are you nuts?!" she exclaimed."I can't leave you here alone with this thing!"

"Either that, or you stay there stuck to the wall.You've seen a little of what that Sword can do."

The light went out again.

"Hey!" Edge snapped.

It came back on.

Edge shook his head.

"Ready?"

She shrugged.

"I guess.I'll hurry back as fast as I can - "

"Use the _Falcon.You have clearance with the Captain."_

"Okay."

"Okay."

That established, Edge reached out, grasped the hilt of Masamune, and pulled it out of the wall, releasing Rydia, who instantly sprang to her feet and bolted out the door, slamming it shut behind her and bolting it.The thud that followed her action showed that Edge had indeed been taken over by Masamune once more.

"Edge?" she called.

"Go on!Don't just stand there!" he called.

She turned and left.

"And furthermore," Uriat continued with his list of "requests", "the citizens of Baron are growing _quite distressed as Your Majesties insist upon leaving frequently on dangerous business - "_

"What are you saying exactly?" Cecil demanded.

Uriat threw down his scroll.

"You two," he said, indicating Cecil and Rosa, "keep going off to save the world, and it's freaking everybody out that you both could get killed and leave Baron without a ruler again!One of you should be here at all times!"

Rosa groaned and began to ignore him.

Cecil shook his head.

"Uriat, do you have anything _good to tell us?You're being very, very useless lately."_

Scowling, Uriat picked up his scroll again.

"Well," he admitted, "there is the matter of the New Year approaching.Erm . . . people want to know if you're planning to bring back Jour d'Anee."

"Jour d'Anne?" Cecil echoed.

Rosa jumped.

"Oh, yes!Cecil, let's bring it back!"

"What - "

"Please?!"

"But what - "

"Really, Your Majesties, I think we have other priorities than a week long party involving much alcohol and cats - "

"Fine!Fine!" Cecil sighed, still having no idea what they were talking about.

Cats?

Rosa snickered.

"Never thought you'd be the one to bring up something like that."

"It's not my idea, Your Majesty."

"Figures.Just when I thought there was hope for you yet . . . Okay, tell them we'll have a Jour d'Anee.Wouldn't be right without one.It's New Year's, after all.Last year, we were being ruled by Golbez and at war with . . . don't give me that look, Uriat.We're _not going to war."_

"I was just going to suggest that . . . never mind.Moving on . . . "

"Suggest what?" Kain pressed from the far corner where he was sitting.As head of the army, he had a right to sit in on all such official meetings, although he usually sat there silently through Uriat's tiresome reports and filled Cecil in on what was _really happening after the royal advisor had left._

"Nothing."

"You were going to suggest something, Uriat, and I think it involved prompting violent action against another Kingdom.If you're even thinking of planning such a thing, I think we should know about it."

Uriat scowled deeper at the Dragoon.

"Just that this would be the perfect time - symbolically - to launch a war of vengeance again Eblan."

"Of _vengeance?!" Cecil repeated, astounded."Don't you people ever get it?!We were at war for a hundred years!That was __bad, Uriat!War is __bad!People __die!That is also __bad!As in __not good!What part of this continues to elude your little brain?!"_

"They killed thousands of our people in the war!" he protested.

"And how many of theirs did _we kill?"_

"But it was they who launched the initial strike!"

Cecil threw up his hands in frustration.

"But Daddy, _he started it!" he exclaimed in a mocking voice."For crying out loud, Uriat, don't give me that crap."_

"Ahem.Yes, Your Majesty.Continuing on . . . "

As Uriat resumed his long monologue of items on his scroll, Kain raised his eyebrows questioningly at Cecil, who shook his head slightly.There was nothing they could do about this mentality.Too many people felt the way Uriat did.They just had to keep everyone in line and keep war from breaking out.

Neither of them felt up to dealing with the paperwork.

Cid hummed absently as he pounded his hammer against the side of one of the Redwings: _Horizon.It pretty much made up most of his days anymore - repairing the airships, modifying the airships, improving them . . . (mainly ones like __Horizon which were falling apart) . . . no more building or designing like he once had.Of course, when he'd designed them, it had led to the various massacres that had later transpired with their aid, plundering towns, destroying villages, and the like.Maybe it was better to stay away from such things._

_Yeah right.I'm bored, and I should just admit it._

Well, things could be worse, he supposed.

Right about then, the unmistakeable hulk of the _Falcon shot by overhead, coming to an instant halt and landing a few yards away from the one he was working on.As he stood there watching, he saw Rydia jump out and run frantically into the castle._

_Bored? he thought.__Well, looks like we're gonna have to save the world again._

He went back to working on his airship.

Rydia burst into the council chamber at the Castle Baron.

"Cecil, Rosa, Kain, emergency!!!" she blurted.

The three in question jumped to their feet.

"'Scuse us!" Kain called to Uriat, who was staring at the Caller with his mouth hanging open.

"Your Majesties!!" he bellowed. "You're doing it again!!"

"Doh!" Rosa exclaimed, clamping her hands to her head."Dang you, you, you . . . go on, Cecil, I'll stay and run the Kingdom!"

"Thanks!" he called, charging out of the room, Kain on his heels, after where Rydia had vanished.

Glancing after them for a moment, Rosa then turned her attention back to the Chancellor.

"Okay, Uriat," she said in a threateningly sweet voice."Continue."

Uriat swallowed his disapproval at Cecil and Kain's departure under the anger in her glare, and continued his report.

"So what's going on?" Cecil asked as the _Falcon took off again._

"Masamune's taken over Edge's body, and he told me to come get you."

"Masamune's taken over Edge's body?!" Kain repeated."How?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know!It's upset because Edge started finding out some stuff about it that it didn't want him to know, I suppose.It started messing with the light, and then up and possessed him!"

Cecil and Kain exchanged a glance.

"And euh . . . what do we do about it?" Kain inquired.

She shrugged again.

"Beat it, I would think."

"Oh, you are _so helpful . . . "_

About twenty minutes after Cecil and Kain had departed, Rosa finally got rid of Uriat and, with a deep sigh, plopped down in front of a window and stared at the sun, which was beginning to grow low in the sky.She felt a little queasy, and wasn't quite sure why.She also wasn't sure why she'd been so moody lately.But she didn't feel like dwelling on it.

As she sat there, her mind wandering, a large disruption in the distance caught her attention.Sitting up and squinting, she could see a large creature slamming itself into one of the city walls, making short work of the archers and Tower Sentries trying in vain to pelt and vanquish it.A quick search of her memory drew up no identification of the creature from such a distance, but rather than take a chance, she shot to her feet and ran out of the castle, swooping up her bow which was sitting on a nearby table.

Her feet carried her past questioning guards who she knew would be of little help.The thought crossed her mind that whatever this thing was, if it broke through the wall, she may need help to fight it off.After all, her expertise lay in healing, not so much as fighting.

Pausing outside the Dragoon Barracks, she pounded on the door frantically.

"Open up!Open up in the name of the Queen!!!" she yelled.

She door swung in so suddenly that she lost her balance mid-pound and stumbled into the arms of a very startled Dragoon-in-training.

"Euh - Queen Rosa - "

"Get your pals and come with me," she snapped, quickly regaining her balance."The City's under attack!"

Without another word, the boy turned tail and shouted something down the hallway, and a handful of other trainees flocked in.

"Follow me.Get your weapons and follow me," she instructed.

Their speed was actually rather admirable, and then she and the first four ready for battle hightailed it to the point where the creature continued pounding at the wall.It was very ugly, just as most evil monsters are: very large, burly, bright purple, with a preppy-looking haircut.As they approached, the wall to the city fell in.

Rosa skidded to a halt in shock.

"How could - "

The monster turned to them, waving around its long, sharp-clawed hands and pincered tail, rasping, "Maffat!Maffat!"

Before she even realized it, the arrow flew from her sac into her bow, and her fingers released it into the air, connecting with the snarling purple thing squarely in the chest.

The monster pulled it out and threw it aside, suddenly charging at the five.

"Duck!" Rosa yelled, even as they dived aside from the monster's path.

One of the boys lunged at the monster with his sword, and was swatted aside like a bug.While he was being swatted, though, another jumped at him from behind, driving his sword through the monster's shoulder and down through its side.

"MAFFAT!!" shrieked the monster, pulling out the sword and throwing it at the boy, who yelped and ducked.

Rosa fired another arrow, this one connecting with its back.It whirled around, snarling, and fixed its eyes on her, preparing to charge again.As it began to do so, however, the third of the boys slammed into hit head on, knocking them both reeling on their feet.

While they regained their footing, Rosa quickly chanted a healing for the two who had sustained injuries so far and strung another arrow.

The monster regained its balance and leapt through the air with incredible speed, landing inches away from her.Reaching out with a clawed hand, it made to grab her, and she was already mouthing the words for EXIT, when she heard a shouted challenge, and watched the monster stagger and fall back, the blade of the fourth boy's sword protruding from its head.

She heaved a sigh and watched as it floundered around.Surely, with a sword through its head, the monster was finished.

Surely, surely not.After thrashing for a moment, the monster, yanked the sword from its head, let it fall to the ground, and turned on the trainee who had dealt the blow, grabbing him with its jaws before the boy could react.

"WaaaAAAAAHH!!" the poor kid yelled, absolutely frantic (with good reason, in mine own opinion), dangling from the monster's jaws.

One of the others ran up and, in a fit of passion, kicked the monster in the shin.

Growling, and dangling its head in agony, the monster dropped the boy from his jaws and charged off, rubbing its head and not acknowledging the attacker who had dealt the kick.

He ignored the monster's retreat, stooping to shake the boy who lay on the ground.

"Jeez, man!!You okay?!"

Staring blankly up at him, the other boy replied, "Huh?Okay?I'm bleeding!What kind of question is that?!"

"Queen Rosa, should we pursue?" asked the one who had gotten swatted at the beginning, stealing her attention from them and the retreating monster.

She frowned.

"Are you crazy?!I don't even know what that thing was!Just be glad it left!!"She left him standing there and went over to the two who had finished the battle.

"Hold still," she instructed the one who had got bitten as she examined the wound."Oh, nasty.Don't worry."Chanting the low-level restorative spell that was almost second nature to her, she watched the wound glow and vanish.

The boy sat up.

"Woah," he said, blinking.

She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Good job, guys," she said to them all.Then she turned her attention to the dumbstruck townspeople who were gawking at them through the hole in the wall."Now, what are we going to do about this hole in the wall?"

The _Falcon arrived in Eblan and its passengers hurried into the Castle, despite the cold attitude of some of the guards, and the stern indifference of others, and followed where Rydia led them._

When they reached the door of the King's room, Rydia tentatively knocked on the door.

"Edge?"

"_Help!!!!!!!" came the reply._

Kain motioned for Cecil and Rydia to stand back and opened the door.Edge instantly burst out, lashing at him with Masamune, and he quickly dodged and tripped the Ninja, knocking the sword out of his grasp with much ease as he did so.

"Done deal," he told the others as Masamune flew across the room and clanked on the floor.

Edge remained where he'd landed after Kain had knocked him down.

"Edge, are you - " Cecil began, but Edge flapped a hand at him and ordered "Phshjit!Jit!Jit!"

Taking that as a request for silence, the three stood there watching with morbid fascination as Edge lay there on his stomach, staring straight ahead and rhythmically waving his legs in the air, obviously lost in very deep thought.Then, with a sigh, he jumped to his feet and pronounced,

"Masamune is not a normal Sword."

They just stared at him for a moment, before Kain replied, "Um . . . ya think?"

"It," Edge stated, pointing at "it", "is too danged powerful for its own good.I was just thinking of when Borthus' cloud attacked Eblan - the black lightning wasn't repelled by Masamune like it should have been.It was absorbed.It absorbed that energy, as well as probably that of just about every other monster we've fought and defeated, and now it's taken on a life of its own."

"How could it have done that?" Cecil asked.

Edge shrugged.

"I don't know.I just know that because of that stupid Sword, not only does Rydia now have a funky haircut, but every potted plant in my room has been demolished.I think Masamune's work here is done.I'm not touching that Sword again if I can't control it."He shook his head, a little worn out from being under Masamune's raging control for the few hours it had taken for help to come."Thanks, Kain, Cecil.Rydia, I'm really sorry I tried to kill you."

"No problem," she chimed."But next time you have a suspicion that one of your weapons isn't quite normal, get someone other than _me to look at it!"_

He grinned slightly, seeming very troubled by what had just happened.With good reason, in mine own opinion.

"Well," he then said to Cecil and Kain, "I'll accompany you back to Baron.Sorry about the lack of hospitality, but in case you haven't noticed, people here don't like you much.Sorry again, it's been a bad day, so sue me."

"No problem," Cecil assured him."And if Murasame acts up next, just give us a call."

"Yeah, I'll be glad to deck you again," Kain told him.

"Gee, it's great to have friends."

Rydia Called for Chocobo and went home for the night, and Edge had Cecil and Kain dropped off back at Baron.

"Get some rest," Cecil told Edge at their parting."You look like you could really use it."

"Couldn't we all?" was the reply.Then the _Falcon took off, heading for home, and the two arrivals found themselves in the aftermath of chaos._

"What's going on?" Kain asked Lori, one of his students who was standing nearby in a rush of frantic people and shouting and large pieces of rock being carted about.

"Huh?"He seemed startled for a moment by the question, then recovered and answered."Sir!There was a monster attack on the border of the Kingdom!You weren't here, so we took care of it with Queen Rosa!Sir!"

Kain blinked.

"What attacked?"

"Well, that's the strange thing.No one's seen anything like it before.Anyway, it ran off before we could finish it off, but it left a huge hole in the northern wall of the city.Sir!"

"Anyone hurt?"

"Uh . . . Cami got a little binged up," Lori said, pointing to another of the Dragoons-in-training standing a little way away with a group of other students."But he's okay.Nothing serious, and Queen Rosa healed him right up.He scared off the monster.Got right up in its face and drove his sword through its head!It was so cool!Uh . . . sir," he added with a start, remembering himself.

"Through its head?And it still survived?"

"Yes, sir!Pulled it right out and ran off!Well, actually, it bit him, and I kicked it, and then it ran off, but you know . . . "

"The only damage done was to the northern wall?"

"Yeah, well, and it uprooted a cornfield outside, but that's it.Everyone's panicking, though, so they're fixing the wall as best as they can right now in case a monster comes when we're vulnerable."

"Hmm."

Kain left the eager boy to stay and watch everyone run, which must have been very fascinating to him, and went to find Cecil.


	3. In Which, all heck begins to break loose...

2)---------- In Which, all heck begins to break loose

2)---------- In Which, all heck begins to break loose.

Drill.

Usually, Lori didn't mind drill.

Today, he was hating drill.

After all, hadn't he and three others fought off a dangerously terrible monster (also, terribly dangerous!!), and thereby spent the night partying in stead of sleeping?How on Earth did Kain expect them to manage drill?

Then there was Cami.The one who had driven his sword through the monster's head.Somehow, lack of sleep or not, he managed to go through drill training with the rest of them, do it well, and actually seem to _enjoy it._

The kid was a major suck up.Lori had to admit it, and Cami was his best friend.A suck up was a suck up.

Anyway, Kain had seemed pretty happy to hear their reports from the night before.Well, as happy as he got.That is to say, there was no rolling of eyes or gnashing of teeth.

_And why not? he thought.__I mean, this just shows that we're good enough to take care of the Kingdom by ourselves now . . . _

Even though it had just been one monster and they'd had Queen Rosa fighting along with them, but he sort of left that part out of his thinking.He was feeling pretty good about how they'd performed, although he was dead tired from staying up the rest of the night with the others.

Class was then dismissed for the weekend, and he was all set to go home and go straight to bed.

"Suck up," he told Cami as they gathered up what items they might want to take with them and headed out.

"Huh?" Cami replied.

"C'mon!Why do you have to be so perfect?It makes the rest of us look bad!"

"Huh?" he repeated.

"I mean, you've got to be just as tired as the rest of us . . . "

"Huh?"

"Cami, are you feeling all right?"

"Huh?"

Lori smacked the side of Cami's head.

"Wake up!"

Cami shook his head.

"Woah.Sorry.I feel a little dizzy."

"You're just tired.Welcome to the club."

"No I . . . I feel dizzy.Like, _real_ dizzy."

He stopped walking suddenly, staring at the door in front of them to outside, as if trying to focus on the light.

Lori stopped also.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Um . . . I'm dizzy."

"You said that!But what's wrong?"

"I'm dizzy!"

"Okay . . .euh, put your head between your knees and take several deep breaths . . . "

"What's going on?" came a voice from behind them.

Lori turned and saw Kain standing behind them.He swallowed.

"Cami's dizzy."

"I'm dizzy."

"Dizzy how?"

"Huh?"

"Dizzy as in gonna fall over, or dizzy as in gonna throw up?Because if it's the latter, then I highly recommend stepping outside first.This is a hard-wood floor."

"Dizzy as in gonna . . . gonna . . . go . . . "

And Cami collapsed on the floor without finishing his response.

"Okay, that answers that."

"Oh my gosh!Cami!Are you okay?!" Lori exclaimed, kneeling beside him and trying to arouse him.

"Calm down, he's just fainted," Kain told him, also kneeling beside the boy."Probably just tired . . . "His voice trailed off.Without saying anything to Cami's paranoid little buddy, he lifted one of the boy's arms and examined it closely."Hm."

"What?What's wrong?!" Lori demanded.

"I told you to calm down," Kain lightly admonished."Okay, Lori, I want you to go get Rosa.Tell her I sent you, and bring her back here."Lori just stood there."Now would be nice," he emphasized in a firmer tone, and Lori nodded silently and charged away to the Castle.

Edge, using three towels in each hand, had carried Masamune to a chamber deep in the Castle and locked it up tightly.Now, the next day, he found himself back in the small chamber, staring at the sword.

"What the heck is up with you, anyway?" he finally demanded."I mean, you're a sword!You're not supposed to possess people."

"_I do what I like."_

The voice didn't seem to have been spoken, but Edge heard it, and he recognized it.When, in the Lunarian Palace, they'd first fought to possess Masamune, the same voice had warned them away, assuring them that they would never defeat it and capture the Masamune.This was, apparently, the voice of the sword itself.

"Why?" Edge asked, saying the first thing that came to his mind."Life is rough enough as it is right now.Couldn't you have gotten jittery another time?"

"_You," it began in an accusing voice, "__You let another person hold me!You let an inferior wield me as if I were just a dime-store weapon!Like Murasame!!You shall pay for such treachery!"_

_"I think not," Edge bluntly replied, not bothering to ask what a dime store was, leaving the chamber and locking the door behind him.Masamune was not to be disturbed._

"Look at this," Kain said to Rosa as she arrived in the barracks.He had moved his trainee to the infirmary and shoed away any curious eyes, and now instructed her to examine his arm as he had.

Looking closely at the boy, she squinted, then frowned.

"Odd," she said.

"And it's getting worse.You could barely see it before.Now it's more visible."

"I see."

"What do you think's causing it?"

She shook her head.

"I couldn't say.Of course . . . "

"What?"

"That thing we fought last night - it may have something to do with this."

"With what?!" Lori interrupted, earning sour looks from them both."Sorry, excuse me, whatever, Your Majesty, Sir, but what's wrong with him?!"

Kain recognized the boy's childhood devotion to a friend and pulled Lori over to the bedside with only a minimal roll of the eyes.

"Look at this," he told him, pointing out a series of deep purple splotches spreading over Cami's skin."You know him well.Has he ever had this sort of thing before?"

Lori stared in astonishment.

"N-no.Is it some kind of rash?"

"I think so," Rosa told him."A side effect, most likely.But from what?"

"What contact did he have with that monster last night?" Kain asked her.

"It bit him in the shoulder," she promptly replied."Nasty, very nasty.It took a CURE3 to heal it.But if it somehow poisoned him - "

"Try a Heal?" Kain suggested.

Nodding, Rosa murmured a chant very quietly, and as Lori watched in fascination, a glow spread over Cami's body, but when it faded, the marks remained.

"If it's poison," Rosa continued, "then it's some kind I've never seen before."

"Hmm.What should we do?"

"I'm not sure."

"Bit him in the shoulder, you say?"

"Yes."

"Hm."

Kain pulled off the boy's shirt and rolled him over.As he'd thought, the marks also covered his back.

"It's apparently spreading.We'd better find out how to get rid of it," he told her.

"Get him home," she said."Get him in bed, and make sure he gets some chicken soup.I'll see what I can find on the matter."

Kormag was steamed.

"Your Majesty," he seethed, "you shouldn't have sent for _them for help!"_

Edge banged his head against a wall.

"And just why not, Kormag?I'm getting very sick of you and your constant bashing of Cecil and his people!"

"It's just that they're not to be trusted, Your Majesty!When the world was at stake, they knew they had to join forces with us or die, but now - "

Edge advanced on the Chancellor dangerously, and the latter backed away instinctively.

"Kormag, you listen to me, and you listen to me well.I am not in a good mood.My life is not going well.And you're part of the reason.You and everyone else who is constantly trying to drive me to war.We will _not go back to war with Baron.They are to be trusted.They are trustworthy.They are my friends.Cecil and Rosa are my friends, and I willingly trust them with my life.I will not hear you tread on their honor, or the integrity of their Kingdom.If we're ever going to rebuild __our Kingdom to what it once was before the war began, we have to make sure the war is finally over.The four main Kingdoms of the world are united for the first time in history, and I intend for it to stay that way.If you would pull your head out of your warhole, you'd see the advantages for our people for it to be so, and maybe you'd get off my back."_

"I still think you should be wary."

"Have you heard a single thing I've said?!"

"King Cecil is a former Dark Knight!You can't trust him!"

"He got the Paladin's Sword!If you're so educated, then you should know that that automatically proves him to be a good guy!Are you going to shut up now?"

"No, Your Majesty!I will not until you see reason!"

"Reason?!"Edge crossed the room to stand in front of his throne."Reason?!Your kind of reason I don't want to see!The war is _over!"_

"By _their terms, it's over!" Kormag snapped._

"By theirs and _mine!" Edge bellowed."Now get out of here!"_

"Your Majesty - "

"That is an _order, Chancellor!!__DON'T MAKE ME FIRE YOU!!!!!"_

Kormag bowed stiffly and left the room.

Edge dropped into his throne and sighed, chewing unhappily on his fingernails.It seemed as if everyone in his Kingdom was against him, but he knew he had to _stand strong_.(A strange song began to play through his mind)He couldn't give in and go to war against Cecil.He just couldn't.There was no reason to, and besides, Cecil was his friend.

If only these people would understand that.Cecil had it good.At least he had Rosa, Kain, and Cid on his side, if no one else.Here . . .

He wondered if it was only a matter of time before the people of Eblan rebelled against him, and went to war with Baron.

Edge gnashed his teeth.

"So things are really coming to a boil," Rydia concluded, filling Yang in on the situation with Baron and Eblan.

Yang shook his head.

"This isn't good," he muttered."It's not good at all.When they were at war before, everyone paid.And now . . . well, they'd both be out for the rest of us to take sides, and I frankly wouldn't be able to do it."

"Neither would I," Rydia sighed."I mean, sure, Edge is a jerk and I hate him, but he's my friend!I could never use my powers against him - but I sure as heck couldn't use them against Cecil!"

"But it would be impossible to just stand by . . . "

"You're right."

He sighed.

"Let's just hope Cecil and Edge can keep their people calm until a solution is found."

"Solution?" she weakly objected."There is no solution.No matter what either side does, neither will be happy.Ever."

"No, there must be a way.There's always a way," he told her."Let's just hope they find it before it's too late."

She shook her head.

"Yeah, let's hope.In any case, I'm thinking of stopping by Eblan again today before going home.I mean, just in case Murasame's decided to act up, or something."

"How did your class go?"

"For goodness sakes, where did you find that kid I'm training?!She'll barely talk, much less chant spells!"

He shrugged.

"She'll surprise you."

"Yeah, I'll take your word for it.See you, Yang."

"Until next time, Rydia."

When she arrived in Eblan later that evening, she found the reception as cool as ever, and wondered at it again.For the life of her, she couldn't see why the locals seemed to despise her the way they did.But in any case, she wasn't here to see them.

As she entered the Castle, Kormag stormed past her and almost knocked her down, then continued on his way without acknowledging in any way her presence.

Hmphing into some hair which had fallen into her face when she dodged him, she entered through the doorways and headed for the throne room.

"Now what?!?!" came a furious shout as she tipped the door open a tiny bit.

Stepping into the room, and said in a cocky voice, "Well, if that's the way you feel, maybe I'll just leave!"

"Rydia!" he exclaimed, jumping down from his throne and all but bounding across the room to greet her."I wasn't expecting you!"He kissed her hand graciously and led her into the room.

"Just wanted to make sure everything was still in one piece," she told him, on her guard as it seemed his flirtatious attitude was back in place.

He shook his head with an aggravated sigh.

"Just hardly," he told her."Rydia, I . . . oh, heck with it all.Never mind."He rang for refreshments and gestured for her to be seated at a small table in a corner of the room.She did, and he sat across from her.

"Kormag almost knocked me down when I came in," she told him."He seemed pretty steamed."

"No doubt he was.I was cruelly trying to disillusion his war efforts against Baron."

"Again?"

"Again.Some people just never learn."

"So that's why _you were so steamed when I got here."_

"Yeah, that's why.It's aggravating like you wouldn't believe." 

Someone bustled in and left a tray of tea and little chocobo-shaped crackers before bustling right back out again.

Rydia munched thoughtfully on a cracker, ignoring a sudden thought of what Chocobo would think of the snack.

"Are you going to do it?" she asked after a long silence.

"Do what?" he inquired, surprised.

"Go to war with Baron."

He munched on a cracker himself.

"No.And believe me, I've had to give it plenty of thought.Personal reasons aside, it would be suicidal and harmful to the Kingdom's economy.We couldn't win, we'd get nothing out of it, and we'd lose more than we'd ever gain.And that's not considering that fact that me and Cecil couldn't go to war.It'd be - it'd just be wrong!"

She nodded and took a sip from her cup of tea.

"I'm glad.I really am.I didn't think you would but . . . I had to know for sure.You know.Just to be sure."

He grinned.

"Your confidence is overwhelming.No, Rydia, you and I both know too well the horrors war can bring on a person.You lost your people, I lost my sanity.What I don't understand is how these people can continue wanting it after all we've been through."

"It's the only thing a lot of you know, isn't it?" she reasonably pointed out."I mean, it's gone on so long . . . "

"Yeah," he had to agree."And if not for Zeromus and the trouble he caused, I'd probably be screaming for blood too."He shuddered."Gosh.This is terrible, Rydia.And no one is willing to open their eyes and see just how terrible it is."

She reached out and took his hand.

"And you've got the hardest job of all: trying to open their eyes, not give in, and deal with a possessed sword on top of it all!"

He grinned again and pulled his hand back, surprising himself.

"I have to," he told her."I have to make up for all the damage my grandfather began when he first attacked Baron.And as for Masamune, well . . . that sucker is just plain creepy.It spoke to me earlier today."

"It spoke?!"

"Yep!"

"What did it say?"

"Oh, the usual threatening manner of dialogue."

"Oh."

"Yeah.As if life around here wasn't crazy enough as it was . . . "He guzzled down the rest of his tea."Say, Rydia, it's getting kinda late."

"Yeah," she agreed, looking out a window."I should probably go - "

"Wait!" he exclaimed before he could catch himself."Uh, I mean, you're more than welcome to stay the night here at Eblan."

She glared at him coyly.

"No, that's okay - "

"I'm not flirting or anything like that, Rydia, I mean, stay as a guest.Accept our hospitality for the evening!"

"Edge, your people don't even like me."

"Yeah . . . they don't like me much either.Won't you stay?"

It dawned on Rydia that he must be pretty desperate for companionship if he would outright _not flirt_ with her.

"All right," she agreed with a nod."I'll stay."

He sighed.

"That's a relief."

She frowned.

"Edge, exactly what is going on around here?"

He shook his head.

"Come with me.I need to talk to you in private."

As Rosa was dressing for bed that night, she glanced at her hands and took a startled step back in surprise.Quickly, she hurried over to her mirror to see what she hoped she wouldn't.But she did.

Tossing a robe over her nightgown, and ran down the stairs, looking for Kain and Cecil.

She found Kain first, probably because he was looking for her as well.

"Rosa!" he called, catching sight of her as she ran past the hallway he was standing in.She skid to a halt and turned to meet him as he ran up to her."Are you - "

"Yes!" she exclaimed."You too - "

He nodded grimly.

At the moment, Cecil came upon them, having heard the shouting.

"Rosa, Kain, what's going on?"

They both whirled to see him in an almost guilty manner.

"Cecil," Kain told him, "we have a problem."

"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a step towards them.

They took a step back.

"Please don't come any closer," Rosa told him.

"Huh?!"

"Cecil," Kain said, "I told you about Cami."

"Yes, so?"

Kain and Rosa glanced at each other, nervous about what they now had to say.

Finally, Rosa stepped forward a tiny step and removed her robe so her arms were visible.

"It's contagious," she said, her hands and arms covered in the faint purple marks that had adorned Cami.

"That kid had contact with half the Kingdom after being infected," Kain said slowly."And it would have spread so fast . . . "He met Cecil's gaze and nodded."I think we'd better raise the quarantine flags, Cecil.Baron's under epidemic status."

"So you think it's only a matter of time before they attack, whether or not you give the word?" Rydia summed up.

Edge nodded grimly.

"Really, Rydia, stay here for any amount of time, and you'll see what I mean.Somehow, every problem, every minor inconvenience had been somehow blamed on Baron.No one cares about the truth.They want revenge.And I'm the only thing who stands in their way."

"You think they may try to get rid of you?!" she exclaimed, horrified.

He shook his head.

"I don't think so.But whether I'm here or not, they're going to give in and attack one of these days.And I don't know what I can do about it."

She sighed, shocked.

"I don't know either," she had to say."But we'll think of something."She grinned."We have to."

He nodded.

"Yeah . . . that we do.But it's late.I'll take you to your room."

"What did you manage to find out about that monster?" Cecil asked Rosa from a safe (they hoped) distance.

"Oh, it's a classic monster-bite story," she sighed."To counteract the poison, you need the creature's blood mixed with certain other magical elements."

"She tried using the blood left on Cami's sword as a test," Kain interjected."I'll give him a few laps for not cleaning it properly after he wakes up.But we won't know if it works for at least a day, because of some waiting period or something."

"The formula has to boil, then set for 24 hours, then cooked on a low temperature for another five, and let cool for three," Rosa clarified."It's got about seven hours to go, and if it does work, then we definitely won't have enough to go around."

"In any case, I think we're in trouble," Kain summarized.

"In any case," Cecil contradicted, "I think that monster has to be tracked down."

Rosa raised her eyebrows.

"Cecil - you can't go."

"I wasn't infected, Rosa.I was stuck listening to Uriat all day.Come to think of it, that means he's not infected either, lucky dog - "

"You can't go monster-hunting all by yourself."Rosa crossed her arms and glared at him.

But Cecil was determined.

"And, uh, what do you suggest?We don't know what ends up happening with this stuff.In a few days, everyone in the Kingdom could end up decomposing into a loaf of bread, or some such thing.The antidote has to be found, and you know that."

"But - "

"He's right, Rosa," Kain had to say.He didn't like it anymore than she did (Why did Cecil always get to have all the fun?), but he also knew that someone who hadn't been infected with the poison, which would knock someone out in a matter of hours, had to track down the monster and get the necessary materials for the remedy.

"Fine, then, go if you've a mind to!" she snapped and turned away.

"Okay . . . " Cecil looked at Kain and shrugged."Um . . . I'm leaving now."

"I'm not talking to you!"

Cecil shook his head.

"Whatever.I'll hurry back," he told Kain.

Kain nodded.

"Right.We'll hang in here."

"Fine.Stay here and keep an eye on things."He thought for a moment."In fact, rather than take a chance of spreading this, don't let anyone else enter or leave the City until I get back."He threw a stern glance over them both."That includes you two."

Kain nodded again.

"If you're sure . . . though I'd prefer it if someone went with you."

"I'll be fine, Kain."

And Cecil left the Castle to begin tracking down the monster who had infected over half of his Kingdom.

Rydia lay awake, staring at the ceiling above, turning things over in her head.

So, Edge thought that certain people in Eblan were plotting against him, eh?That put a new light on everything.It was one thing to know that Cecil and Edge weren't going to raise arms against each other.In _that light, everything seemed nice and secure._

But in _this one, it meant nothing at all._

She rolled over and stared at a potted plant resting on the bedside table.

_They sure do have a lot of potted plants around here . . ._

"_Baronian hypocrite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shrieked a voice that cut through the silent night like a spear through . . . well, through a potted plant._

Rydia jumped and, in the rush of events that followed, found herself plunked on the floor, wrapped in a tangle of sheets and blankets, while a spear shot through the air and embedded itself in the potted plant which had so raptly held her attention.

A dark form screamed and crumpled just inside the door, having been cracked over the head with another potted plant by another dark form.

Rydia turned.

A group of dark figures were swarming in through the window.

The dark form from the door which had knocked out the other dark form by the door jumped across the room and pulled her to her feet.

"Get up - I'm out of potted plants!" Edge warned, brandishing Murasame at the new intruders.

"Shove it, Your Majesty!" bellowed one of them, lunging through the air at the Ninja King, who ducked and let his assailant fly past him and splatter on the floor.He twisted around and grabbed Edge's foot, trying to knock him off balance, and Rydia promptly kicked him in the head, rendering him senseless.

"Should we call for help?" Rydia asked nervously as a group of eight or nine attackers circled around them.

"They _are the help," Edge wryly informed her."There we have the Captain of the Guard," he pointed out the hooded man in question, "the Minister of Defense, the Castle Cook, and the rest are, I believe, hired assassins."_

"Why?" she pressed as they continued to circle around them.

"Most likely, because I refuse to destroy my Kingdom in a pointless war, and because I believe they consider you to be Baronian."

"_Me?!"She faced one of the attackers - the Cook, she thought - and stamped her foot."I am __not a Baronian!!I'm a friggin' Caller!Mist wasn't even within Baron's boundaries!!"_

The Cook swung a kitchen knife at her, and she backed off.

"What do you think?" Edge inquired of her."Should we go quietly in the realization that they have us surrounded and we cannot win, or should we make a drastic fuss?"

"Whatever happened to going along with them for now, and breaking out later?"

"Ooo, forgot about that one."

The Captain of the Guard made a swift gesture with his sword to them, and said in a grating voice, "Stop yammering and come quietly to the dungeons.The people will be told that you were assassinated by the Baronian, and then we will conquer in your honorable name."

"I'm not a Baronian!!What part of 'Citizen of the Land of Summoned Monsters' do you not understand?!?!If you don't believe me, I could just Summon up a certain sea serpent - " Rydia commenced snapping.

"Of course, there's always the option of running for our lives," Edge went on.

"As well as killing ourselves to avoid disgrace."

"Hm, I never liked that one much, actually."

"Me neither.What about getting the jump on them and making a quick break for it, followed by a wild gout of heroics, including swinging from chandeliers and throwing chairs?"

"Sounds like fun."

Before she could reply, the man she'd knocked out earlier grabbed her foot and yanked her to the floor.

She squealed and kicked him in the head again as the others set upon Edge.

Jumping back up, she lashed out once with her chain and then retreated to a corner of the room, chanting quietly.

"C'mon, you incompetent wretches!" Edge sneered to those remaining.Rydia's lash had actually knocked one out, believe it or not, which was astonishing, because Callers are crummy fighters."Can't five of you take on one?"

He took one swipe with Murasame and sliced their blades in half.Except for the kitchen knife.

The Cook turned and grabbed Rydia, who furiously stomped on his foot.He let go.

"Break?" she asked.

"Yes!" he replied, and they both bolted from the room.

They charged away from the sleeping wing of the Castle Eblan with their assailants in hot pursuit.

"What do we do now?!" she yelled."Your people are revolting, and we're running for our lives!"

"We make something up!" he brightly replied.

When they reached the main hall, however, the general mood changed.

Kormag stood there, blocking the archway to the outside.As they entered the hall, he raised his hand and said one word: "_BLITZ!"_

A wall of lightning shot around them, its force and electric shock driving them both to their knees, then all fours before it wore off.

Rydia chanted frantically and ended with: "ICE3!"

Kormag was, for a brief moment, encased in a shell of solid ice, which then shattered, leaving the Chancellor collapsing from the agony of it.

Just then, the Cook came up and shattered a potted plant over Rydia's head, tearing consciousness away from her.

Edge didn't stop to think.

"_SMOKE!" he yelled, scooping up Rydia's body as the concealing vapors filled the air, and running deeper into the castle.Much deeper._

_Heck, if they've even got the Cook rallied against me, then there's scant chance of us getting out of the courtyard with our skins intact.I've gotta keep 'em at bay till Rydia wakes up - she can Call a way out of here . . ._

The smoke began to dissipate, and he could hear his attackers on his trail.Glad that the Caller was very light, he picked up his pace, and eventually ended up in the chamber where he'd sealed _it._

Hastily unlocking the door, he threw it open and hurried inside, carefully, if quickly, depositing his guest on the floor.

Masamune floated in the center of the chamber, glowing dimly.

"Listen, you stupid sword," he seethed."I know you don't really care for either me or Rydia right now, but I defeated you, and you've gotta listen to me - "

The attackers burst into the room all around him, and without another word, he grabbed the sword.

Rydia forced her eyes open and looked up as Masamune began to glow brightly.

The force emitting from the sword was indescribable - like a great, warm weight that began pleasant, but grew heavier and heavier until she felt the consciousness forced right out of her again.

Just before passing back out, she heard a startled cry from Edge.


	4. In Which, Kormag reveals his plan.

3)---------- In Which, Kormag reveals his plan

3)---------- In Which, Kormag reveals his plan.

Kain, feeling restless, found himself wandering though Castle Baron in the middle of the night, looking for a snack.Instead, he found Rosa sitting at the kitchen table, massaging her temples and looking as bereaved as he'd ever seen her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, as he sat across from her.

She shook her head.

"I can't believe I did that," she mumbled."I know he had to go . . . I knew it then . . . but I was too snobby to even say goodbye . . . "

"You weren't snobby," Kain assured her."You were more bratty."

"Bratty?"

"Carried on like a com_plete_ brat."

A deep sigh escaped her.

"I know.Now I feel really bad . . . Kain, he's all alone hunting down that thing!I mean . . . Cami ran a sword through its head, and it still survived!What if . . . what if Cecil . . . I didn't . . . "

Kain grinned softly.

"Don't worry about Cecil, Rosa," he assured her."You know as well as I do that he's very capable of taking care of himself."

She glared at him.

"Aren't _you worried?"_

"Oh, believe me, I'm on the verge of panic."

"Kain . . . "

"Really, Rosa, he'll be fine.This is Cecil we're talking about."

Rosa dropped her chin to where her arms were crossed on the table.

"I know.This is Cecil we're talking about.So why does that not seem very reassuring?"

He shook his head.

"Because this is Cecil we're talking about.We should both be frantic.But that won't do us any good.Cami passed out after a little less than a day.We don't know how long we have, and we have to keep everyone cool in case something happens."He glanced at the purple splotches spreading across his hands and shuddered.

She reached across the kitchen table and gripped his arm.

"What if he doesn't come back in time?What if by the time he returns, _if he returns, we're already . . . already . . . decomposed into loaves of bread?"_

He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Then the survivors certainly won't be hungry for awhile," he explained gently.

"That is just sick."

"Yeah, I know."

"But what if - "

"Rosa!Stop 'what if-ing'!We'll deal with whatever happens.Now shouldn't you go get some sleep?You could probably use it."

"I tried."Her expression was even more downcast than when he had first entered.

"What's the matter?" he inquired, searching her features for a sign.

She sniffled, and Kain suddenly knew that he was in for a piece of romantic drabble.Inwardly, he winced.

_I really am not cut out for the romantic drabble bit . . . come on, Rosa, don't do it to me._

"Among everything else going on . . . this plague breaking out . . . all the hostility between us and Eblan . . . strange new monsters popping up . . . then I try to sleep, and Cecil's not here, and I don't know which is worse, being so scared, or being so lonely . . . "

Kain sighed.

_. . . she did it._

Rosa started crying softly, and he got up and went over to her, noticing that she'd been very moody lately.He put his arms around her and held her, not tightly, just enough to hopefully calm her down.

"Pull yourself together," he told her, gently, trying not to show a sudden bout of impatience."Everyone's depending on us."

"I know . . . I know . . . " she sighed."I am just . . . _not having a good day!"And she suddenly jumped to her feet and bolted from the room._

Looking after her and shaking his head, Kain wondered what was going to happen next.

When Rydia felt herself waking up again, the first thing she realized right off was that it was wet.Very wet.No, not wet, but damp.Damp and murky.Murky and Damp.Yuck.

She forced her eyes open and found herself sprawled on the damp and filthy floor of a dark room, her hands and feet chained to the wall.

_I'm in a dungeon, her mind informed her.__Why am I in a dungeon?_

The chains were long enough for her to get to her feet and look around a little more.It was a small cell, very damp, very, very damp, with nearly no light, a ratty-looking bed, one tiny window, and a door.

It was to this door where she went, peering through the window.Catching sight of the guard posted outside, and rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Hey!" she exclaimed."What's goin' on?"

The guard ignored her.

"Hey!" she repeated."Where am I?Why'm I here?Where's Edge?"

Not the guard turned and glared at her.

"Silence, murderer!" he snapped."You know very well why you're here!You were brought to the Eblan Dungeons after being apprehended for the slaughter of King Edge of Eblan, and now you're awaiting further sentence."

"What's my _current sentence?" she inquired, blinking._

"Life in there."

"Oh."She blinked again."Wait a second!I didn't kill Edge!Euh . . . wait a second!!Another one!Edge - you're telling me Edge is _dead?!"_

The guard had turned away, however, and would say no more to her.

Realizing that she would get no more out of him, she sat on her dirty bed and thought.

Kormag stood facing the assembly of the Eblanian citizens, shamelessly flaunting his magical skill of melodrama.

"Yes," he finished."It is with a heavy heart indeed that I should be the one to inform you all of this . . . few were closer to the King than I was . . . but now that he has been destroyed by the hand of the Baronian Caller, it is our _duty as __good citizens of __Eblan, to launch a full-out attack against the Kingdom of Baron, and __seek our revenge!"_

The crowd loved it.They'd been born and raised hating Baronians, and although each of them knew well that Edge had opposed any violence against the other Kingdom, they all figured it only natural that they now attack and destroy every last stone in Cecil's castle.

When they had dispersed, Kormag turned to his fellow conspirators and smiled.

"Now," he said, "now the story finally begins.Enough with plot development and flashbacks that make no sense.The tale starts _here."_

"But," spoke up the Cook, "we don't know _what happened to King Edge!He could still be alive!"_

"As long as _they don't know that, it doesn't matter," Kormag said dismissively."And if he shows up, destroy him."_

"Yes sir. What about the Caller?"

Kormag waved a dismissive hand.

"Oh, I don't care!Does it look like I care?Keep her in the dungeons - we can't have her escaping; that would cause trouble, and she's probably more good to us alive than dead."

The Cook raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Morale."

"Whose morale."

"Mine," Kormag replied, shuddering."Anymore, I'm not sure I'd be willing to trust a Baronian to stay dead once killed.This way, we _know where she is."_

"Don't you get it?!" Uriat whined."With the Kingdom in this state, Eblan is _sure to take advantage of our weakness and - "_

"Shut up!" Rosa snapped."I am sick and tired of listening to this!!Unless you have something useful to say, Uriat, why don't you just get out of here?!I could be doing far better things than listening to this!In fact, I have a sudden urge to iron my boots.Do I have to leave, or will you?Because ironing boots is just silly."

Uriat sniffed and left the room with great dignity.

Rosa sighed and plopped on her throne.

"Why do we even put up with that guy . . . "

"That's what I keep wondering," Kain agreed."Maybe you should just fire him."

Rosa frowned.

"I'd never thought of that."

"Ironing boots . . . that was a good one."

"Thank you."

A Guard entered the room, looking as confused as ever.

"Your Majesty, there's a crazed woman out here insisting that she has to see you on very urgent business."

Sighing again, Rosa figured that it couldn't be much worse than everything she'd already dealt with.

"Let her in."

She and Kain were surprised when Cami's mother barged in.

"You gotta do somethin'!!!" she shouted."Do somethin' about Cami!"

"What's the matter?" Kain instantly inquired.

"How is he?" Rosa added.

Cami's mother glared at them both and crossed her arms.

"He's grown a tail."

"_A TAIL?!?!"_

The expressions that filled their faces are better imagined than described.

" - and from then on, every day of my life was spent _cookin'!Cookin' for all them ungrateful slobs, but I still done it, I always done it, and I done the best I could to support me and my boy, and I don't none see why a good boy from a hardworkin' family should be stuck like this . . . "_

Kain and Rosa had long since stopped paying any attention to the old woman's ranting as they followed her to her house.

Pushing the door open, Kain rushed inside, searching the tiny house for his affected student.

" . . . but a tail?!Why a tail?!His Pa spent years tryin' to grow a beard, why couldn't Cami grow a beard?Why'd he grow a tail?Not natural, you know, for boys to have tails . . . "

Lori peeked out of a doorway and gestured to Kain.

"In here, Sir," he called in a wavering voice.

"What are you doing here?" Kain asked quietly, entering the room where Cami lay unconscious with Lori hovering about.

The boy shrugged.

" . . . "

Kain conceded to that and figured that there were more important things to worry about than why Lori would be here instead of his own home.Rosa entered the room and he flagged her to the bedside.

"It's a tail, all right," he confirmed after looking Cami over.Not only did he have a tail, but the purple splotches were no longer discernible.His entire body was purple, and somewhat scaly.It was as if his natural skin had been replaced.

Rosa shook her head.

"Yes . . . the same type of tail that was on the monster.I wonder . . . " and she trailed off.

"Wonder what?" Kain and Lori both asked at the same time.

Rosa pushed herself up and began to pace the room.

"I don't know.I'm still wondering."She continued pacing.

Kain pulled off one of his gloves and felt the boy's purple forehead.

"He's not fevered," he said."Not hot at all.But he's sweating up a storm."

"He's been like that all night," Lori said.

"What time is it?" Rosa interjected.

The two Dragoons just stared at her.

"I think - yes, it must've been seven hours.I'll be back.Kain, you stay here with the boy."And she charged out of the room.

They watched her go, then turned their attention back to Cami, who hadn't so much as twitched the whole time.

"Lori," Kain asked again, "what are you doing here?"

Lori shrugged again, sullenly.

"Is your family all right?Is something wrong?"

"They're perfectly fine!" the student snapped with sudden intensity."That's why I'm here!They shut us kids _out so the plague wouldn't come __in!"_

Kain winced.

"Ouch, that hurts," he said sympathetically."People do strange things when they're scared . . . "

"Strange?They shut out eleven of their twelve kids.That's not strange, it's just _wrong_."

"Eleven of you?"Now Kain was really startled."Well, where did the others go?"

Lori shrugged once again.

"I dunno."And he fell silent.

A slight grin crossed Kain's features for a brief moment, as if this brought back some vague childhood memory.He gripped the boy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Hang in there, Lori.We'll think of something."

Lori looked at him like he was absolutely nuts.

"Haven't you noticed?!Not to be disrespectful or anything, Sir . . . but haven't you been paying attention?It's the same story all over the city!Anyone with the faintest hint of purple has been pretty much kicked out of their homes!The whole Kingdom's in an uproar, you know.Just an hour ago, I saw an angry mob go by with torches and pitchforks."

Kain winced again and tried to scratch his head, but succeeded only in banging his fingertips painfully against his helmet.

"Ow.No.I hadn't realized things were getting out of hand.We've been trying to figure this out back at the Castle."

"Have you figured out anything?" the boy inquired with a sudden hopefulness.

"Somewhat," Kain replied with a shrug."Rosa's working on an antidote, but even if it works, there's likely enough to use as a test and that's it.Cecil's hunting down the monster you guys fought.We need its blood for a cure."

Lori shuddered.

"You mean one person's going up against that thing alone?"

"Yes, one person," he replied in a stern voice."One person who happens to be Cecil.He can handle it."

Lori shuddered again, running a partially purple hand through his hair.

"I hope so."

Light.

_Yes!Yes, finally, I'm through -_

Darkness.

_Dang it._

Light, a sputter, darkness, more light, and then -

"Oof!!" Edge exclaimed as he hit the hard ground with a thud and rolled a few yards from the force of his impact.He shook his head and jumped up to his feet."Dang that stupid sword . . . you can't trust anyone anymore . . . where am I?"

Looking around, it took his addled senses a moment to acknowledge his location.

"Oh yeah!I'm home!"

And he moved down from the grassy hillside to the city below.A good bit of apprehension filled him due to the circumstances under which he'd been warped from his Kingdom, and he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't be shot on sight, but he had to find out what had happened to Rydia.

Eblan had suffered terribly under the Redwing attack that had driven its citizens underground.In fact, there hadn't been enough left standing of the town to even consider a town.After Zeromus had been defeated and the war with Baron had finally ended, the people had slowly begun to rebuild their city, but for the most part, people were living in tents and small, makeshift cabins in the remains of the city walls.

As he approached this gathering of dwellings, he noted the two guards standing rapt at attention at what was left of the gate.

"Hey, bozos!" he snapped.

They made no indication of having heard him.

"Yo!" he snapped, louder."I know you may not like me, I know you may have tried to kill me and all, but you at least owe me an explanation!"

They still seemed to ignore him.

Edge seethed.

"Listen, you punks - "

But when he made to grab one by the collar and threaten his wellbeing, he yelped in astonishment as his hand went right through the guard.Staggering from surprise, he couldn't help himself from falling right through not only the guard, but the gate.

He lay there, a person and a door cutting right through him, and tried to think.

"Crud!" he suddenly exclaimed."I'm a ghost!!"

The revelation startled him, and he jumped back to his feet.

"HEY!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs at the guard."HEY, UGLY!!!!!DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!"

" . . . "

"Great."Edge felt a little faint."Just great.I'm a ghost.Just great.Just peachy."His knees gave way beneath him and he sat down heavily."I'm a ghost.Okay, so I'm a ghost.I would not have predicted this."He gave his head a quick shake to settle his spinning mind and tapped his chin with his finger."Now what?"

After thinking for a moment, he got back to his feet, squared his shoulders, and stalked through the guards, through the gate, and to the castle.He still had to find some answers.


	5. In Which, the monster receives a name.

4)---------- In Which, the monster receives a name

4)---------- In Which, the monster receives a name.

"Let's just see if this'll work," Rosa muttered under her breath as she uncorked the vial in her hand and, cradling Cami's head in the crook of her arm, poured its contents down the limp boy's throat.

Kain, Lori, and Cami's mother stood expectantly in the doorway.

"Well?" Kain inquired after a few minutes had passed with no effect.

Rosa shook her head.

"It'll take time to have any effect.It has to counteract all the poison that's spread through his bloodstream - we're going to have to wait and see."She moved away from the bedside and to the door."What's your name again?"

"Max," Cami's mother replied."That's Maxine, but seein' as how you're royalty an' all, you can call me Max.My friends do."

Rosa rolled her eyes discretely.

"Okay, Max, I want you to let me know the moment anything changes in him."She turned to Kain."I'm sending word to the scholars at the Great Library to look into the possible identity of this monster.We've got to find out more about it.Go do whatever you need to do."And she walked past them and out of the house.

Kain frowned slightly.Rosa had been acting a little out of character lately.

"Are you staying here?" he asked Lori, who shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Lori's always got himself a place here, he does," Max interjected."His family ain't no good, but he's a decent kid, he is . . . "And she went off on another of her tangents.The fast-spreading purple splotches on her hands and arms apparently did nothing to diminish her vocals.

Tossing the boy a sympathetic glance, Kain turned and left after Rosa.

Despite his apparent invisibility, it was with considerable caution that Edge made his way through his castle.Still, no one made any move to challenge him, or even seemed to notice him.Eventually, he felt a little more at ease.

_At least, as at ease as someone can__ feel after realizing they've been turned into a ghost by a really weird sword . . ._

Then Kormag charged through the corridor, and he instantly turned to follow him.

The Royal Advisor burst through the balcony doors, and Edge was at his heels.Moving on ahead, he saw that what must have been the entire army - what was left of it, anyway - and most of the citizenry making up the assembly.And he got a sinking feeling that he was really going to hate what the Chancellor had to say.

Kormag approached the railing and unknowingly stepped right into Edge, who yelped with disgust and jumped aside.Oblivious, he spoke to the congregation.

"Eblanians," he bellowed in his scrawny voice, "a reliable source has brought word that the Kingdom of Baron has been placed under epidemic status.A strange plague is spreading through it quickly.Due to its contagious nature, we are delaying our attack plans."

"Attack plans?!You _idiot!" Edge shrieked at the old man, who, of course, didn't hear him._

"But we're taking advantage of the delay, and as soon as they lower their warning flags, we will move in with our army more powerful than ever!They won't stand a chance!"

"What are you talking about?!They'd blow you out of the sky before you even reached striking distance!!!!" Edge yelled into the air."It's suicide!!"

A voice from the crowd carried up to them.

"What about the Caller?"

Edge instantly abandoned his ravings about Kormag's stupidity and turned to the Chancellor with an evil glare in his eyes.

"She is being . . . well taken care of," Kormag replied with a chuckle, which spread throughout the assembly.

Rage boiled up in the young King to the point where he would have ripped the Chancellor apart . . . if he'd been tangible.Instead, he did the only thing he could.He left the assembly and bolted for the dungeons.

Being familiar with Kormag's habits, he could guess exactly where Rydia would be, and he was right.The deepest, darkest, and dampest cell in the entire dungeon.

Ignoring the Guard who returned the favor unknowingly, Edge ran right through the door and into the cell.

Rydia was sitting on the bed, arms crossed, a troubled look on her face.Every now and then, she turned to try and see out the window, but it was small and so high up that she wouldn't be able to see a thing, and it was so dirty it didn't even let in enough light for her to tell the time of day.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there and watched her, conflicting emotions running through his own heart as he considered what must be going through hers.

With a deep sigh, she shook her head and plopped back on the bed, coughing slightly at the cloud of dust that shot up around her as she did so.

"Who was the last person to use this cell?" she irritably demanded of the Guard.

A laugh came through the door.

"Who cares?He's not there anymore," was the reply."I don't believe he's _anywhere anymore."_

"I'm not sure which is worse: getting beheaded at dawn or spending the rest of my natural life in this rat-hole."

"That rat-hole is the only thing you're going to be seeing ever again, murderer.Learn to like it.This is what happens when you commit such a crime as you have."

Rydia closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"I told you - I didn't kill Edge!I didn't kill anyone!"

The Guard made no reply.

"They think you killed me?" Edge exclaimed, startled."Well . . . I guess if they needed to make up a story like that, then not so many people were in on this conspiracy after all."He sighed."Oh, Rydia.I'm sorry I brought all this down on you . . . you didn't deserve this . . . "

She rolled over to one side.

"How did he die?"

"Like you don't know?"

"For the sake of conversation, then, dang it!!How was he killed?!?!"

"According to what the Chancellor could make out of what little was left, you used FIRE3 on him and destroyed him."

"FIRE3?!On a person?!That's outrageous!!!Not to mention smelly.I'd never do such a thing, much less to Edge . . . "

"And you're going to tell me again that Kormag was plotting against the throne and used you as a goat, I take it?"

"He did!" Edge shouted."You fool!!He _did use her as a goat!"_

The Guard, of course, made no reply to Edge.

"You fool - Edge was my _friend!!"_

"And a fine way you had of showing it!"

"Call, Rydia!" Edge exclaimed."Call your way out of here!!Man, Leviathan would sure make short work of that dork!"

Rydia lay silently, unaware of the advice, which she couldn't hear.

Edge kicked at the air and cursed.Of course she couldn't hear him.No one could.But why was she here?She could get free at any time!

Or could she?He found himself wondering.Goodness only knew to what end Kormag would go to ensure that his prisoner did not escape.Rydia wasn't a fool, nor did she like damp, enclosed rooms.If she'd been able, she would've gotten out long ago, he was certain.So what was holding her here?

He had to find a way to communicate with someone.He had to get in touch with someone who could do something about the situation.There had to be _someone who could put an end to this madness before it was too late . . . _

But what could he do?

Feeling weak again, he let himself sink to his knees, concentrating on what he needed to do.

He needed to get word to someone with an army.An army big enough to take Eblan from Kormag's rule . . . but then what?

_If Kormag was defeated in battle, where would that leave the Kingdom?Heck, if he did__ attack Baron, it may turn out for the best!Maybe Cecil would be able to bring some order to this madness . . ._

_But Cecil's Kingdom was in enough turmoil on its own, between his own people's hatred of Eblanians and the plague Kormag had spoken of . . ._

_I wonder - just what sort of plague is this?What caused it?_

He sighed, wondering if everyone was okay there, or if the situation was just as terrible in Baron as it was in Eblan.

"Edge . . . "

Startled, he jumped and turned his attention back to Rydia, who had whispered his name.

"What?Rydia, can you see me?Can you hear me?"

But she just shook her head slowly.

"You couldn't be dead . . . "

She was just talking to herself, trying to make sense of the situation . . . and come to terms with everything that was going on.

"I'm not dead!!!!" he shouted."I'm trapped on another plane!I'm not dead!!Just because I'm a ghost doesn't mean I'm dead . . . _why am I even bothering?"He raised his arms and then let them flop to his sides in a helpless gesture."I should just face it.There's no one in this world who can hear me . . . not unless there's someone out there who talks to ghosts."He thought."Or maybe someone who can raise the dead."He thought some more."Or even . . . just the swooned?"A thought came to him._

"I think I need to try and get in touch with the most powerful White Wizard on the Earth," he declared to himself.

The Barracks were a series of low buildings built attached to the Southern side of Castle Baron, between the Castle and the City.The section in question - that which housed the student population - was not exactly the coziest place in the world, to put it kindly.It was built for training, and nothing more, and students usually relished the privilege of going to their homes on the weekends, which was the policy.

Therefore, Kain was more than a little surprised to enter the building and find almost a full assembly of his trainees staring him straight in the eye.

"Erm . . . " he said, taken a bit aback.

"Sir, hello, Sir!" said one of them.

"Hi," he replied."Euh, what are you all doing here?"

"We've got nowhere else to go," one of them pointed out.

Recalling Lori's statement, Kain frowned slightly.

"Okay, kids, I think it's time we gave the Kingdom a pep talk, you?"

They agreed.

"Rosa!" he called, charging through the Castle corridors in search of his childhood friend and Queen.

"Yeah?" she called back from the throne room."Uriat was just telling me how foolish you are."

He stormed in and glared at the Chancellor, who suddenly began to squirm.

"Explain."

Uriat opened his mouth to reply, but Rosa cut him off.

"He seems to be under the impression that your motives border on treachery."

"Explain further."

Rosa gestured to the squirming Chancellor.

"Let him explain."

Uriat cleared his throat slowly.

"You don't deny, of course, that according to tradition, the Dragoons have not answered to the King?"

Kain shrugged.

"Of course I don't deny it.The Dragoons were always an order that stood apart from the throne, dedicated to protecting the Kingdom, preferably according to the Ruler's wishes, but against if necessary.They had the right to disobey an order if it conflicted with their conscience."He grinned."That's why Royal Advisors throughout the ages have really disliked us."

"But you had that privilege lifted from you, did you not?"

Raising one eyebrow in a dangerous manner, Kain replied, "I don't see what business that is of yours.What relevance does this have?Because I have more important matters to - "

"By training others in a code from which you have been banished, you are committing an act of treason!"

"What?!How treacherous is that?!If anyone's treacherous here, it's - "

"Both of you, shut up," Rosa snapped."Uriat, get out of here.I'll deal with this later."

Uriat sniffed and flounced out of the room.

"He hates me," Kain declared, wrinkling his nose.

"He knows you have more influence on Cecil and I than he does.It bothers him.What did you need?"

Kain shook the matter of Uriat and his accusation from his mind and recalled his thoughts to more pressing matters.

"Rosa, the Kingdom's not in very good shape."

"I realize that, Kain."

"No, I mean, more so than just being under plague status."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.Over half the Kingdom's been kicked out of their homes and are now living on the streets, a good many of them without food and the like."

Rosa frowned and got up from her throne.

"What do you mean?I mean, why?What's going on?"

"Non-infected people are rejecting family members.They're afraid to go anywhere near an infected person."

"But that doesn't make sense!It spreads by contact only!"

"Tell that to _them."_

She rubbed her temples and grimaced.

"I don't need this . . . okay.What can we do?"

Kain shrugged.

"You're the Queen, Rosa."

"*sigh*Fine."

She stepped out on the Castle balcony, her long blond hair streaming back over her white gown and now-purple skin, and instantly a huge crowd converged, but not before she could tell that Kain's summation of the situation was correct; over half the Kingdom had been turned out of their homes and was living in poverty on the streets.

The things you notice when you look out a window.Shocking.

Before she knew what she was saying, she was yelling at the top of her lungs:

"_It spreads by contact only!!!!!"_

A great murmur ran through the crowd, and she regained her composure.

"Citizens," she re-began, "I know you're scared - we all are - but look at it this way: when all this is over, and everyone's been cured, how are you going to explain yourselves to your relatives which you've turned away?Where is it said that you have the right to turn against your own blood because of sickness?You're supposed to take care of your family when they're sick, or have you forgotten?"

Everyone stared at her.

"My husband is on his way to get the cure - "

"We don't know there _is a cure!" someone yelled."The one you used on the boy has had no effect!"_

"Wrong again, you spittin' moron!!" retorted a familiar harsh tone.

Rosa, along with everyone else, watched Max's entrance silently.

"Cami just done broke out of it!He's as well as he's ever been!Slight amnesia aside, we've got a cure!!!"

A burst of cheering rose up from the people, and Rosa turned to re-enter the Castle.

Now they just had to wait for Cecil.

It took a lot of time and concentration, but finally Edge managed to control spatial transport.With a bit of effort, he could transport his ghostly form from Eblan to Baron, and he did so, arriving with a POP in the Castle Courtyard.

"Whew!" he exclaimed."What a rush!"Looking around, he found the Courtyard deserted, and then realized why: it was night.It had taken longer than he'd thought to master transportation.

But what mattered now was that he was here.He entered the Castle unchallenged by the Guards and went up to the top of the Left Tower, hoping that somehow, either Cecil or Rosa would be able to hear him, being experienced with White Magic.

When he entered the room, however, he was greeted only by the sight of Rosa sitting on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a quilt, shivering.

_Odd, Edge thought.__I know it's Winter, but . . ._

"Rosa?" he tentatively called, hoping for some spark of realization from her.

But she didn't notice.She just sat there, shivering.

"Dang it," he seethed under his breath."She can't hear me either . . . what the heck am I supposed to do?"He looked up."You hear me, Masamune?!What the heck am I supposed to _do?!?!"_

No answer came.Another question did, though.

"Rosa?Why are you purple?"

No answer came for that one, either.Sighing, Edge turned and left the room.If Rosa couldn't hear him, he had little hope anyone else would be able to either.

On a whim, he sought out Kain's room.The Dragoon was fast asleep, blanket pulled up to his nose, and unruly blond hair covering what part of his face it didn't.He had to admit to himself: he looked so pathetically cute and peaceful when he was asleep.

"And meanwhile, I'm sitting here like a ghost!" he blurted out.

"Shut up, Edge, I'm trying to sleep," Kain mumbled, rolling over.Then he rolled back over and opened his eyes.

"Edge?" he inquired in a bleary voice."What're you doing here?And why, for goodness sakes, are you a ghost?"

"You can hear me?!You can see me?!?!" Edge yelped.

Kain rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Woah.What's going on here, man?"

"Woo-hoo!" Edge sang, dancing around the room.

"Cut that out," Kain snapped."What's going on?"

"Okay!" the Ninja sang, skidding to a halt, kneeling on the floor."Here's what's going on: I am trapped in another plane of existence, and my stupid Chancellor had usurped my Kingdom, and he's holding Rydia in the dungeon.No one can see or hear me except for you, for some odd reason."

Kain raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

So Edge backtracked, explaining what he had told Rydia, the details of the assault on them both, and finally what had happened when he'd attempted to use Masamune to fend off their attackers.

"It was really weird, man.It conked out everyone in the room, and then went and sucked me right up.Can you imagine what it feels like being sucked up into a sword?I mean, I was _not built for that sort of thing!"_

"I imagine not."

"So the next thing I know, I'm floating around in this goofy place that . . . well, I just can't describe it, I guess.Naturally, I'm like 'What's goin' on here?' "

"Naturally."

"And then this little snarling ball of fur jumps at me, and says," he stopped to clear his throat and speak in a deep, rasping voice, " 'You have been brought within Masamune, and will now dwell within his realm.'Then it skitters off, and I'm still confused."

"I can see that."

"Yeah.So anyway, I'm just floating there for what seems like about forever, and eventually decided that I should try to find a way out of there."

"Good thinking."

"Thank you.Of course, I had no idea how I was going to do anything about it, because you know, I was just floating in the middle of nowhere, and stuff.So what I end up doing, and don't laugh - it worked, after all - was trying to _will myself back to this plane."_

"I see you were semi-successful."

Edge shuddered.

"Semi?Heck, it scared me out of my wits when I realized I was a ghost!"

Kain got to his feet.

"Okay, let's go find Rosa.Maybe she'll know something about how to get you out of there before - "

"Before?Euh, man, I need to get out of here, like now."

"Why the rush?"

"Like I said, my stupid Chancellor has usurped my Kingdom, and he's holding Rydia in the dungeon!Not only that, but the moment you guys are off epidemic status, they're going to attack Baron head on."

Kain frowned.

"Can they _do that?"_

Edge shook his head.

"No."

"Oh.I understand.Well.Let's go talk to Rosa."

Rosa listened to Kain's explanation with a blank expression.When he reached a conclusion, she had one question.

"Kain, _what are you ON?!"_

"Huh?"

"You're nuts!You expect me to actually believe that you've been chatting with Edge's ghost?Is this some kind of prank?"

"No."And the seriousness of his tone wiped the humorous smirk off her features."I'm perfectly serious, Rosa.He's standing there, right there, in the corner."

She looked to where he was pointing, but saw nothing except a few cobwebs.

"Kain . . . you're serious, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Erm . . . have you considered maybe that you're . . . under a little too much pressure lately?"

"Oh great!!She thinks you're crazy!" Edge cried."This is _all I need!"_

"Shut up," Kain snapped at him.

"Hey!" Rosa exclaimed.

"Not you!" he explained."Him!"

"Kain - "

"Kain - "

"_What?!"_

Both of them shut up.He began to pace.

"All right, Rosa, what would it take to prove it to you that I'm telling the truth?"

"I'm not accusing you of lying, Kain . . . "

"So what would it take to convince you that I'm not crazy, and that I'm really chatting with Edge's ghost?"

She was silent for a moment, thinking.

"Turn around, Kain."He complied."If Edge's ghost is lurking around, he'll be able to tell you what I'm doing."

"Sound good?" Kain inquired of Edge.

"Sure."

"Fine," Kain told Rosa.

So Kain stood, facing the wall.Edge stood next to him, watching Rosa.

"She's sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes."

"You're sticking your tongue out and crossing your eyes."

"She looks startled."

"You look startled."

"She's standing on her head."

"You're . . . Rosa, I didn't know you could stand on your head!"

He heard a crash.

"She fell."

"Okay . . . I guess you can't."

"OH MY GOSH!!!!" she screamed."It's TRUE!!!!!!"

Kain turned back around to face her.

"Told you so."

"Shut up.For crying out loud, Kain, shut up."She sat down heavily on her bed."Kormag's now running Eblan?"

Edge nodded with a sour expression.

"Yep," Kain emphasized.

She covered her face with her hands.

"But there's nothing we can do, Kain . . . Edge.I mean . . . we have a plague!If we tried to intervene in any way, not only would it probably invoke a violent reaction from your people, it would spread this disease to them!"

Edge frowned, considering this, and chewed on his fingernails.

"Before we can do anything, even to help Rydia, we have to wait for Cecil to get back with the necessary ingredients for the . . . th . . . e . . . i think i'm going to be sick . . ."

Kain turned his attention from Edge to her, concerned.

"Rosa?"

She jumped to her feet and bolted from the room, holding her stomach.

"What's with her?" Edge inquired.

Kain shrugged.

"Anymore, I don't know."

The next morning, bright and early, Rosa and Kain returned to Max's dwelling to see what, if any, information could be given by Cami.

They found the boy sitting at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands in a manner that stretched out his face and made him look really funny.Lori was absent, and so was Max.So, however, were the purple scales and tail.

"Cami," Kain greeted, sitting next to him."How are you?"

He looked up and shrugged.

"I'm fine.Thanks.Sir."

"Did anything happen?" Rosa asked lightly, sitting on his other side."While you were unconscious?Any subconscious activity?Something that might help name the monster?"

The boy shuddered so heavily that he almost fell out of his chair.

"It's really freaky," he said in a tiny voice."It . . . it makes you _remember things!"_

Rosa frowned.

"In what way?"

"In what . . . well, you just start reliving your life all over again in your mind.Things you forgot, things you remember, things you remember wrong . . . it's just weird."

Kain glanced around the room.

"Where's Lori, anyway?"

Cami looked at him with a sour grin.

"Max told me he passed out just shortly after you both left yesterday."

"Oh."

"And she collapsed shortly after getting back here last night."

"Oh."

Rosa stood suddenly.

"I need to send another message . . . this could change things."

And she charged out of the house.

Kain watched her go, shaking his head.Why was she acting so coldly lately . . .

"But you've got a cure, I mean, everyone's going to be all right, right, Sir?" Cami asked in a worried voice.

Shrugging, he replied, "Yeah, we've just gotta wait on Cecil.He's taking his good old time about getting back."

"You don't think that maybe . . . "

Kain looked him squarely in the eye.

"No."

Kormag watched the loading of the _Falcon with much intensity.At his order, the Airship was being loaded with enough weapons and supplies to support an army through a major battle._

Which was exactly what he intended.

"Sir."

He jumped, startled by the distraction, and turned to find himself face to face with about twenty of the young soldiers.

"Yes, what do you want?"

The one who had spoken hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing his words.

"We question the order to attack Baron."

Kormag felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a dangerously cool voice.

"I - we - mean . . . well, King Edge had been very adamant about not attacking.The moment he's killed, you order we attack.Isn't it, well, acting against his orders?"

A streak of fear shot through the Chancellor, but he outwardly maintained an appearance of annoyance.

"Acting against his orders?Those were orders that led to his death, Boy."

"But - "

Kormag raised a hand, his smooth-talking ability back in place.

"I realize that you were attached to the King - you and the other younger fighters.You followed his ideals very closely.But what you have to understand is that he was very young, and not yet fully ready for the burden of ruling a Kingdom.

"He insisted that peace could be kept with Baron.You all know, though, that we've been enemies for a hundred years, that they are not to be trusted.We had warned King Edge many times that they would take advantage of his trust and act against him, but he refused to listen, placing his trust not in his advisors, but rather, in his alleged Baronian friends.Now we all see that those friends did, indeed, destroy him.It is all we can do now to avenge not only him, but all other lives taken wrongfully by Baronian hands."

"But, Sir," the boy insisted, "he was the King of Eblan!He ordered us not to attack, I don't see how - "

"The King lived in a fantasy world!This is reality!We must attack now, as soon as their plague is ended, while they're still weak, to end this war with as few losses on our side as possible."

"That war is over," inserted another of the soldiers in a level tone.

Kormag looked him straight in the eye.

"It was.Perhaps it is.But now we fight a new war.A war spawned with the slaughter of our King.You believe yourselves to be so faithful to him - prove it.Avenge him."

Dejected, they turned and left him standing there to oversee the loading of the Airship.

Edge, who had watched the scene silently, left the scene without a word.

Rosa paced around the Throne Room nervously.She'd sent another message to Marion, her old teacher, who was now spending a tenure at the Great Library, studying other forms of the spells she'd taught for so many years.

Cami had passed out in a little less than a day.Yet, she and the others were lasting twice as long without any of the dizziness he'd displayed.While he'd lost consciousness before the spots were easily visible, she, among much of the Kingdom, was almost more purple than not, but still aware.

In the last couple of hours, many had begun dropping like flies, while others were still going on without a qualm.There were too many unanswered questions.She needed answers.

A heavy knock was heard at the door.

"Uriat, if that's you . . . "

"Rosa, if I were Uriat, I would have shot myself long ago."

"Oh.C'mon in, Cid."

The door pushed open to allow the entrance of the bearded engineer, a little less purple than her, but not by much.

"What's the word, Rosa?Do we have an answer?"

She sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know.We have a working cure, but Cecil left two nights ago, and no one's heard any word from him.If he doesn't hurry up, we may learn the final effect of the poison firsthand, which I personally would rather forgo."

"You're not alone there.This is creepy."

"Creepy's a mild word for this situation.Now Kain's communicating with Edge's ghost."

"_What?!"_

She filled him in on that issue, and he shook his head and whistled.

"This is not shaping up to be a very good weekend."

"Really."She shook her head back at him and sat heavily on her throne."I sent word to the Great Library about an hour ago via the _Rapier.We should be getting a reply any minute now."_

"What do you think they'll say?" Cid inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know."She put a hand to her head."I don't know.But I do know that I need some headache medication."

The door opened a bit further and Kain tossed her the vial of painkillers she'd supplied him with when he was whining about stupid people.

"Check it, Rosa, they actually _work."_

She caught the vial and stared at it dumbly as he entered the room and propped himself up in a corner.

"Hey, Cid!"

"Hey, Kain!"

"You're looking very purple lately!"

"You too!"

Rosa shook her head.

"You two are pathetic."

"We try!" Kain replied with a wink."Gotta maintain our spirits in these trying times!"

"So," Cid said to him, "I understand you've been chatting with Edge's ghost?"

"Off and on.He keeps going off to do his own thing.I have no clue where he is right now."

"How's he doing?"

"Well, he's pretty torked."

Cid nodded.

"That makes sense . . . what with his Kingdom being usurped and all . . . "

"Yeah, I'd be pretty torked too.How 'bout you, Rosa?"

"I can't believe this!How can you two be sitting there being cute with all this going on?!"

"Just talented, I guess."

The door was then thrown all the way open and slammed against the wall at the mighty thrust of a newly-arrived White Wizard.

"Rosy!" she bellowed, silver hair streaking behind her as she bounded in."I've got a name for your monster!"She charged up right in front of the throne and thrust a tattered book into the Queen's hands.

This was Marion, the White Wizard and Scholar who had trained Rosa in her basic magic, and the only person in all the world who would ever dare call her "Rosy" to her face.

"You see," Marion explained, directing Rosa to the correct passage."Its name is Masters.It was first sighted over ten thousand years ago, and shows up once per millennium, then vanishes.No one knows where it goes in its off hours, but it's pretty lethal when it shows."

"I know," Rosa vehemently agreed."What about its poison?"

"Look here," Marion instructed, pointing out an exact line in the book.

Rosa read silently, her face a tight, grim line.

"Oh dear," she whispered.

"What?!" Kain asked.

"What is it?!" Cid demanded.

"What's it say?"

"What's goin' on?"

"What's going to happen?"

"Can we defeat it?"

"Is Cecil in danger?"

"What's going to happen if he doesn't get back in time?"

"SILENCE!!" Rosa yelled.

They both shut up and stared at her, along with Marion, in stunned silence.

Rosa grinned.

"Being a Queen has its fringes."Then she turned her attention back to the book."Listen to this, guys."

)----------When Masters' venom enters the bloodstream, it will spread and multiply, slowly transforming the victim into a new version of itself.Depending on the amount of exertion put forth by the victim will determine how fast it spreads, and how long the victim has before losing consciousness.If much exertion is put forth, the victim may lose consciousness in a matter of hours.If little is put forth, the transformation may be nearly complete before consciousness is lost.Either way, the victim will fall unconscious as the poison continues to spread.Once consciousness is lost, the victim will regress to his birth and relive his life entirely within his mind.When he reaches the present, he will awaken, but will no longer exist as a person.The victim will have become another of Masters' race.There is no antidote once this stage is reached.

)----------If Masters' blood mixes with that of the victim, consciousness will be lost almost instantly.The cure must be administered as quickly as possible.The age of the victim is very important.The younger the victim, the less time it will take to relive his life, and become Masters.

Kain whistled.

"That's pretty heavy, Rosa."

Rosa closed the book silently.

"We don't have much time," Marion told her."What can be done?"

The three of them all waited expectantly for Rosa to answer.

"We have to wait for Cecil," she finally replied."There's nothing else we can do."

"Exertion," Cid mumbled."So it's a matter of exertion."

"That would explain why Cami passed out so quickly," Kain realized."He put more effort into each drill that day than most of the others did for all of them put together."

"And it would explain why some are passing out and others aren't," Rosa whispered.She looked at Kain and Cid."How long do _we have, I wonder?"_

Cid and Kain exchanged a startled glance, reminded suddenly of their own mortality.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," was all Kain could think to say.

Rydia was laying on her back, tapping one foot in the air to a song only she could hear, trying to figure a way out of there.

A thump outside the cell reached her, and she got up and went over to the door, unsure of what to expect.

What she _wasn't expecting to see was the Guard unconscious and snoring, with Timothy, her student, standing next to him uncertainly, and a large shoe flopped in a corner._

"Timothy!!" she exclaimed."What do you think you're doing?!"

He looked up at her and grinned.

"SLEEP spell!" he told her.

"How could _you learn a SLEEP spell?"_

"I didn't.I found someone to enchant a shoe for me, so when I threw it at the Guard, it acted as a SLEEP spell and put him out!"

Rydia blinked, startled.

Timothy stood on his tiptoes to peek at her eye-to-eye through the door.

"Ms. Rydia, did you kill King Edge?"

She looked at him in the eyes.

"No.Timothy, I did no such thing.Edge was my friend, I would've never hurt him."

He nodded.

"I didn't think so.That's why I'm here.Why haven't you Called your way out?"

She seethed.

"Kormag put up a Drain Barrier around this cell.The moment you enter, your MP goes to zero.I can't Call for help."

A stupid grin appeared on Timothy's face.

"So this is a good time for that 'stupid bird'?" he innocently inquired.

The stupid grin spread to Rydia.

"Yes, in fact."

Timothy, still grinning, began his incantation.

Kormag and the Cook were standing in front of the Castle, looking over the citizenry in their tents and cabins.

"It's amazing how easy it was to take them over," the Cook mused.

"Of course!" Kormag laughed."They don't even know we've done it!"

"I - what's that?!"

A bright green light shot out from the small windows of the dungeon.

Kormag slammed his fists to the sides of his head.

"No!Impossible!"

A smashing sound was heard from below.Then, before their very eyes, the wall blew out into the moat, and Chocobo swam out, fighting to keep his head above the water.Clinging to his back was the Caller and a small boy he knew from somewhere, but couldn't place.

"Hi, Kormag!" Rydia sang to him."Long time no see!Now I have a favor to repay!"

"NOO!"

As he stood there and screamed, Chocobo bore down on him, pinning him to the ground.Rydia jumped off his back and landed lightly beside the Chancellor, grabbing his stringy hair in her fist.

"Okay, Kormy, now 'fess up!Did you kill Edge?!" she demanded in a voice full of hatred.

" . . . "

She yanked at his hair and Chocobo moved his beak threateningly close to his head.

"I didn't kill him," she hissed."Did you?"

"No," he whispered.

"Louder!" she yelled."EXPLAIN!!"

"No!I didn't kill him, and neither did you!"

"Then where is he?!"

"I don't know!He vanished!As soon as he grabbed Masamune - "

"_Crud!!!" Rydia snapped, dropping his head back to the pavement and alighting upon Chocobo's back."Masamune's got 'im!C'mon, Chocobo, we've gotta figure out what to do now . . . "_

And as Kormag continued to lie there, the great bird and his two passengers ran off and vanished.

"Timothy, I think it's established that you can't remain in Eblan," Rydia told him as they rode off."Where should we take you?"

He shrugged.

"I-I don't know."

She thought.

"We could run you to Damcyan.I'm sure Edward wouldn't have a problem with it."

He shrugged again.

"Okay."

She squeezed his arms.

"Thanks, Timothy.You really stuck your neck out back there.It was very brave of you.Keep that bravery, and maybe someday you _will be able to Call Bahamut and Leviathan."_

Chocobo snorted.

"Shut up, you stupid bird," she snapped.

"Damcyan?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Fine."


	6. MOOGLES!!!!.

5)---------- MOOGLES

5)---------- MOOGLES!!!!.

Cecil had tracked the monster for two days, and now was worried that he'd lost the trail.

"This is too weird, anyway," he said to himself, looking up at the natural structure before him.The trail of the monster had led him here, to Mt. Ordeals."Of everywhere in the world, on this continent, even, why here?Why do I keep ending up here?!"

He thought back to the first time he'd set eyes on this place, months ago, though it seemed like a lifetime (really, the whole incident with Zeromus had moved so darn fast . . . ), with Palom and Porom . . . it was here that he'd denounced his dark past and begin fighting for Light.

(_Meeeeeeeeemoryyyyyyyyyy, all alooooooooooooone in the moooooonliiiiiiiiight . . . _)

So why had the monster brought him here?He couldn't believe that there was no significance to it.It had to mean something.

"Maffat."

The sound made him turn and forget his speculations.The monster stood a few paces away from him, crouching on all fours, growling.

Cecil cautiously reached for and drew out the Crystal Sword.The moment the monster struck - 

It struck!Leaping through the air so quickly it caught even Cecil off guard, it sailed over his head and landed just beyond him, lashing out with its tail before Cecil could react, tripping him over and flattening him to the ground.

The monster then moved to quickly finish him off, but years of battle training kicked in before even his instincts could, sending him rolling out of the monster's path and to his feet.

Masters, reacting too late to Cecil's movement, ended up crashing into the ground where he had lain, and before he could get up, Cecil ran to it and drove his Sword down through its back.

The monster snapped upright and backslapped him with enough power to knock him to his knees, dazed.While trapped in that position, the monster grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him up into the air.It looked at him for a long moment, gazing straight into his eyes, as if taking the moment to ponder the purple-haired man's fate.When the moment ended, it swung Cecil into the base of the mountain and let him fall limply to the ground.

Surely that blow would have killed a human.

Fortunately for Cecil, the Crystal Armor was strong enough to glance off a good portion of the impact, and he quickly regained his senses.Remaining still to let the monster think he was dead, he quietly, barely whispering, gave voice to CURE2, not knowing when he would next get a break to heal himself.

As the green light of the spell filled the air, Masters realized its error and advanced upon Cecil.

Cecil, carefully watching its advance, swept the Crystal Shield up in the air and brought it down hard on the monster's head, the clang sending jittery vibrations up and down his own spine.

Masters staggered back, trying to steady itself.

"M--mmm-m-mm-mmm-affff---f--fff-faattt-ttt---t . . . " it stammered.

Cecil recovered his balance, and pulled his Sword from the monster's back.Before he could make another swing, though, Masters again lashed at him with its tail.Cecil, expecting this, dodged the lash, but was then left vulnerable when the monster jumped at him and pinned him on the ground.

Winded, Cecil coughed and tried to catch his breath, but found it impossible due to the excessive weight of the monster, which covered him.Unsure of what to do, he let his instincts take over, and found himself snapping his head forward and conking the head of the monster with his helmet.

(This was the first time he'd ever wished for his Dark Knight attire - the headpiece would have packed a significantly larger punch than did this one.)

"Maffat!!" it shrieked, backing off and letting its adversary rise.

Cecil jumped back to his feet, gasping for breath, and lunged at the creature with his Sword.Masters backed off just enough to evade the blow and slashed forward with its claws, connecting with Cecil and slicing right through his armor, shredding his left shoulder and leaving streaking slash-marks across his chest.

Shocked both by the pain of the blow and the ease with which Masters had cut through is armor, Cecil fell back.He felt the blood running down his arm and torso, and knew that he wouldn't be able to fight for much longer.

He again lunged at Masters, this time driving his Sword into the monster's chest.The monster, stumbling under the blow, threw its paws forward and knocked Cecil back, staggering backward.

Cecil sat down hard from the push the monster had given him, and it was almost more pain than he could bear to pull himself back to his feet.Already he was growing light-headed from loss of blood.But he advanced on the monster once last time, gripping the handle of his Sword, which was still embedded in the monster.

Cami had driven a sword through its head, and still the monster had survived.Cecil knew he was going to have to kill it really well.

Quickly, with all that was left of his strength, he swept out with the Crystal Sword, cutting from the monster's chest outward.Then he swept back the other way, and the monster, with a dying rasp, fell in two pieces to the ground.

" . . . m . . . mmm . . . maffaaaaaaa . . . . "

It was dead.

Cecil felt himself stumble and quickly checked his balance.He felt Masters' blood where it had sprayed over him in the final blow, seeping into his own open wounds.The prospect disgusted him.

He unhooked the two vials from his belt that he'd brought to fill with the monster's blood to bring back to Rosa.But as he stooped to fill them, the world began to swim around him.

One was filled.

The Earth rocked beneath him, and he felt himself connect with the ground.

He pushed himself back up enough to keep at it.

The second was filled.

With an effort that brought an exclamation of pain to his lips, he pulled himself to his feet and began to stumble away.

He wouldn't be able to reach Baron.But he could get to Mysidia.It was closer.There he could get transport to Baron . . .

The world rocked again, and again he felt the hard ground collide with him.

He summoned his strength to get back to his feet again, trying to ignore the searing pain in his shoulder and chest.Perhaps it was working, perhaps he was able to ignore it, or perhaps he was losing consciousness . . .

Realization hit him almost painfully of his own stupidity, and he began to again chant his CURE2 spell, which should be able to restore him.But as he was halfway through the spell, his breath left him.

He lay there, on the ground, nearly breathless, using all that he had left within him to keep his eyes open.

His attention was being help rapt by the two remains of the monster.As he watched, helpless, the two halves began to move.To twitch rapidly from side to side.

They began to glow.

The purple scales fell off in the light, and the bare forms began to pulsate, emitting a warmth that reached the wounded King and washed over him in an almost reassuring manner.

Amidst the pulsations, and the glow, and the warmth, the halves began to change.They shrank, they grew, they changed.Two small bodies took form, small, white bodies, with small, triangular ears, slanted eyes, small, stubby wings on their backs.

Slowly, the pulsations ceased, letting the two creatures lie in stillness.

The light began to leave them.

Then, as Cecil watched, they stood.

They looked at each other.They looked at him.

Cecil felt his vision dim.

One of them walked up to him and sat in front of his face.

Cecil's eyes fell closed, but he felt the little animal put its paws against his face.

"Kupo," was the last thing he heard."Kupo kupo!"

In a huge, stone structure on the lone remaining moon circling the Earth, a great dragon jumped to his feet in surprise at the vision before him.

"Mogs!" he exclaimed."After all this time!Mogs!"

And, much to the surprise of his servants, King Bahamut began to dance around his palace throne room.

Deep within the Earth, in the Land of Summoned Monsters, Leviathan was pacing around with concern.Rydia hadn't returned, and was two days at least overdue.Then Chocobo had been Summoned by a voice new to him.He didn't know what was going on, and it had him worried.

"Try to stay calm, Dear," Asura sighed for about the fiftieth time."I'm worried too, but you're giving being worried a bad name!"

"What am I supposed to do?!" he cried."If only there were some way we could tell what was going on up there - "

"_LEVIATHAN!!!!"_

"YOW!!!" Leviathan yelped, the force of the voice knocking him head-over-heels.He sat up as Asura looked around in wonderment."Who's there?"

"_Who do you think, you dolt?"_

Leviathan twitched his tail across his face.Of course!Who else would be able to contact him like this?

"King Bahamut?" he exclaimed, suddenly breathless.

"_Yes, and it's about time!You're something else, you know that?I leave for a few thousand years, give or take a few, and you completely forget my voice!"_

Poor Leviathan was confused.Not only by his sovereign's sudden communication, which was completely out of the ordinary, but by his flippant manner.Bahamut was _never flippant._

"Erm . . . what can we do for you?" he inquired respectfully.

"_The Mogs have returned!" was the joyful response._

Asura's gasp was dwarfed by his own.

"Mogs?After all this time?!" he exclaimed.

"_Yes, you dense idiot!They've been set free!"_

"How?" Asura gladly cried.

"_King Cecil destroyed the monster which held them."_

"Masters?Cecil defeated Masters?!" Leviathan echoed, unable to quite believe it.

_"Yes!Go greet them!"_

"But - we're stuck down here!" the Sea King objected.

_"Have Rydia Call you out."_

"But she's gone!She's missing!"

"_Oh, not again?"_

"Yep."

"_Hang on."_

For a moment, Asura and Leviathan waited in silence for further reply, somewhat dazed.

Then:

"_She will return soon.Be ready.She won't be happy.But get to the Mogs as soon as you can.It's important to make contact with them quickly."_

"Yes, sir!" Leviathan replied.

Bahamut made no further contact, so the couple waited for Rydia's return.

Kain, oblivious to Cecil's plight and Bahamut's joy, paced his room restlessly.The day had ended.It was the third night since Cecil had left, and there was still no word from him.After the information Marion had delivered set in, he knew it was more urgent than ever that Cecil return with Masters' blood soon, or else, very soon, they would start losing people.The many children who had been infected couldn't have long left to go.Fortunately, the youngest had been protected, one of the positive effects of the initial turning-out of paranoid citizens, but still, the danger was reaching its height.

And there was nothing he could do.

Yes, there was always something he could do.

He gave in to his frustrations and left his room.

A knock on Rosa's door brought no response.Glad that she finally seemed to be getting a nice deep sleep, which she needed, but still needing to wake her, he quietly pushed her door open.

"Rosa?" he called softly."Rosa, wake up!"

He heard a stirring, and heard her mumbling something under her breath.

Taking this as an okay, he entered the room and shook her awake.

"Rosa," he said, "I'm going after Cecil."

"What?"She rubbed her eyes."Am I hearing you right?"

"Yes."He sat on the side of her bed."Something must be wrong.He should be back by now.And unless we get Masters' blood soon, there's not going to be a need.I have to go after him."

She propped herself up on one elbow.

"But he specifically told you to stay here, Kain."

"So?"

"So, he's the King!"

"So, he's my friend.I've gotta go, Rosa.He could be hurt or - fill in the blank.I'm running out of creativity.He really beat me with the loaves of bread thing.In any case, Masters has to be defeated, and his blood has to be returned.If, for some reason, Cecil was unable to do it, then I have to!"

She looked at him as her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness.

"Yes, I see."She looked away for a moment, then back to him."You'll be careful?"

"Of course."

"You'll come back soon?Cecil . . . oh my gosh, what if something _has happened to him?"_

"Then I'll find him and bring him back.Don't worry."

She nodded.

"I'll try."

"Hey, if you get frustrated, just push Uriat around a bit.It'll lighten up your nerves.If he gives you any trouble, just call for Cid.And get the pots ready.I'll be back soon."

She nodded again and sat up.

"Kain . . . you and Cecil and I . . . we've known each other how long?"

Kain did some quick math in his head.

"About twenty years."

She continued nodding.

"Rosa?"

She didn't say anything.

Rather, she grabbed him around the neck and liplocked him!

Needless to say, Kain hadn't expected that.It took his startled brain a few seconds to realize what has happening, and another to register the implications of her action, and then he promptly shoved her back onto her bed and bolted, letting the door slam behind him.

Rosa took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes again.

She couldn't believe she'd just done that.

Kain charged down the hall and outside, past various Guards, who saluted as he passed, and others who were sleeping at their posts.He ignored them all.

His mind was suddenly numb.

He couldn't believe she had just done that!After everything - and Cecil - 

All things considered, though, he was glad it had spooked him enough to react the way he did.If he'd done anything else, he didn't know _how he'd ever explain it to Cecil._

Like, how was he even going to explain _this to Cecil?_

_Hey, Cecil, I went in Rosa's room to talk in the middle of the night, and . . ._

He was _so dead._

But first things first.He headed back into the Castle, having gotten a necessary breath of fresh air, to get the necessary supplies.

He quickly donned his Armor and grabbed his Lance.Then, almost as an afterthought, he took five HiPotions from the armory and hooked them on his belt.Just in case.

And he took five Fenix Downs.

Just in case.

There was one other thing he felt he should do before leaving.

The first knock on the door brought no response, but after waiting a moment and knocking again, he heard sounds within the tiny house and the door opened slowly.

"Sir?" Cami inquired, rubbing his bleary eyes."It's night."

"I know that.Can I come in?I need to talk to you."

Cami nodded, unable to answer due to a huge yawn which threatened to split his head, and he stepped aside to allow the Dragoon entrance.

"What's going on?" he asked as Kain again sat himself at the small kitchen table.

"Cami, I'm putting you on Castle duty."

"Huh?"Suddenly, the Trainee was fully awake.

"You're the only one, Cami, who's been immunized against this poison.I want you there at the Castle.In case something happens to Cid before I return, someone needs to keep an eye on Rosa."

Cami seated himself across from Kain.

"Before you return, Sir?Where are you going?"

"I'm going after Cecil."

"But . . . I thought he ordered everyone to stay in the Kingdom," Cami objected."You'd be going against direct orders if you left."

Kain sighed.

"Listen to me, Cami."He closed his eyes, trying to think of exactly how to say this."You and I - we're sworn to the service of an order of fighters that, historically, has been privileged to go against a royal command if we must.It's rarely done, but it's our right."

Cami refused to meet his gaze.He knew all that very well, and he knew something else, too.

"But, Sir, didn't you lose that privilege?"

Kain gave his teeth one hard grind.

"Yes, I did.But I'm still a Dragoon, Cami."He reached out and gripped Cami's arm firmly."Listen to me, and listen well.We are Dragoons, which means that royal command is not absolute.We are ruled by our code, not the decree of one man or woman.There've been enough stupid rulers to make us appreciate that.I'm not saying Cecil gave a stupid order, and I'm not saying anyone should make a habit of doing this.Anyone outside this Order would get their heads chopped off.Treason is treason, after all, but maybe you'd prefer it if I stuck it out here as ordered, and then it comes to pass that you end up the only survivor of the Kingdom of Baron?"

Cami swallowed.

"Cecil's not stupid.He knows we'll do what we feel we have to in order to keep this place from going to heck, and he also knows very well that I will probably never sit back and submit to his ultimate command.Heck, I know him too well.I could never be an obedient servant, and he knows that.I'm going to take the chance of treason and do what I know is right.We owe His Majesty much, Cami, but we must never disgrace the Dragoons.Do you understand?"

Cami chewed on his lip, but nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

Kain nodded back, relieved to be finished with the morality play.He hated them, too.

"Good."He released his hold on the boy."I have to go now.Take care of the Kingdom while I'm gone.Do what you must."

And he left the boy sitting, bemused, at the kitchen table, went outside, and mounted one of the stabled chocobos now used for transportation.

And only then did he notice Edge following.

"How long have you been tagging along?" he irritable inquired as he set off.

Edge matched the chocobo's speed and floated along beside them easily.

"Let me just say that that was beautiful, man," he replied, wiping away fake tears.

"Shut up."

"So tell me, man, exactly how did it come to pass that you had your privileges as a Dragoon lifted?"

"Shut up."

Edge crossed his arms.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with Crescent Mountain, would it?"

Kain pulled the chocobo up to a hard stop.

"Look, Edge," he snapped in a rapid voice, spitting a bit of fire, "I don't know how you could know anything about that, but it's none of your business, and you'd do a lot better to leave it alone, otherwise, when we free you from Masamune, you're going to wish we never did!!!!!"

"EASY, man!" Edge consoled, raising his hands."Look, I know what happened to you at Crescent Mountain.I never knew the repercussions, and frankly, I never cared!Now, though, the only thing I can say to you is - "

"Will you just _shut UP?!"_

"_Thank you!!!!That's all I have to say to you, all right?!" Edge yelled._

They glared at each other for a long moment.

"How do you know?" Kain finally asked, weakly.

"I was there," Edge replied."I saw the whole thing."

Another moment of silence.

"Who was it, anyway?" Kain inquired, barely speaking, his voice was so quiet.

Edge shrugged.

"I don't know.Just someone.Still.Thank you.I know it caused you a lot of trouble."

Kain clenched his fists.

"How many other people know about it?"

Edge shook his head.

"No one.The only other person there was your own Captain Baigan."

"And we all know what happened to Baigan.The King knew.He's dead, too.Rorunar . . . no, no one else."

"So you're home free, Dragoon," Edge lightly informed him."The only other person who knows what transpired at Crescent Mountain is myself."

"What about the kid?"

"Sorry to say it, but my father had him executed for dishonorable actions on the battlefield."

"Oh my . . . I just barely escaped the same fate myself . . . "

"So maybe it didn't mean a lot in the long run.But it meant a lot to me, Kain."

"I couldn't take it."

"Neither could I."

Kain stared at the reins in his hands for a long moment, then urged the chocobo slowly forward.They moved along, slowly.

"You're lucky, you know," Edge said.

"Lucky?"Kain almost laughed."My life is going to heck.How'm I lucky?"

"Well, look at it this way: I'm trapped within Masamune."

"In that light, I suppose I _am_ lucky."

"Yeah."

"But?"

"But.Kain, I want you to take a wild guess here.How old do you think I am?"

Kain frowned at the question.

"What does - "

"Just take a gander."

He shrugged.

"Okay.I'd say you're about . . . twenty-five?Twenty-six?Cecil's twenty-five . . . "

"Wrong, Dragoon.I'm nineteen years old.Nineteen, and already I've gotten my own Kingdom, and gotten it whisked right away.Isn't there some child labor thing against this crap?I've not yet reached the legal drinking age!Oh . . . don't go spreading that.I'd be in a heap of trouble."

Kain grinned.

"Lighten up, Edge.We'll get all this straightened around somehow."

"And then what? Help me out of here, help me regain my Kingdom, and then what?Wait for something else to slip up and send us back to war?I say you're lucky, Kain, after listening to what you told that kid back there.You're lucky because you have someone you're willing to risk your honor to save.And you know that there are those who would do the same for you.Believe me, if anything were to ever happen to me, not a finger would be raised in Eblan to do anything about it."

"You can't be serious."

"I am."Edge nodded with a grim expression."I've been there.The only people who even questioned Kormag's takeover were smooth-talked into submission."He sighed."Maybe I'm not so sure I even want to get Eblan back.I've been raised to rule it, ever since my birth it's been all I've heard about - gotta rule the Kingdom, Edge, and I thought I wanted to.But it's just not working out the way it was supposed to."

"Things rarely do, Edge, and you know that."

"Yeah, I guess."

They moved on in silence for a little over an hour, each considering what the other'd had to say.

"What's the situation with Rydia?" Kain finally asked.

Edge's expression lifted a bit.

"Her Caller Student broke her out.They're on their way to Damcyan to dump him off, and then she's probably heading back to the Land of Summoned Monsters."

Kain nodded slowly.

"Edge."

"Yeah?"

"Could you go on ahead?I mean, would you be able to find Cecil?See if he's on his way back?Make sure he's all right?Then let me know?"

Edge nodded.

"I probably could."Then he frowned."You know, I could never figure out why you can perceive me and no one else can.Any thoughts?"

Kain shrugged.

"I guess when you've been dead as many times as I have, you have an easier time perceiving renegades from other planes."

Edge took that as an explanation and vanished.

Kain continued on for a while longer, turning things over in his mind.Then, with a sudden burst of inspiration, he drove his heels into the chocobo's sides, and took off at a run in his search to save the Kingdom.

Rydia, Timothy, and Chocobo arrived at Damcyan just as dawn was breaking over the horizon.The boy was sound asleep in front of her, snuggled up in the thick yellow feathers, and most of the journey had been made in silence.As they drew up to the Castle, though, Rydia prodded at Timothy.

"Time to wake up, kiddo!" she informed him in a bright voice.

He mumbled something and tried to pretend he was still asleep.

"C'mon, Timothy!Time to get up, or else I'll make Chocobo sing!"

"Yeach!" Chocobo blurted."Get up, kid!I'm utterly tone-deaf!"

The voice of the Chocobo reminded the boy of what was going on, and he woke up.

Rydia grinned and slid off the bird, helping Timothy down after her.

"Wait here," she told Chocobo."I'll try to hurry."

"What's your rush?" he inquired.

"I need to grill Leviathan for some answers."

"Oh.I'll be sure to hide upon our return."

"You do that."

That said, she and Timothy left Chocobo wandering the courtyard and entered the Castle unchallenged by the Guards, who knew her well and felt they didn't need to question her young companion.

Edward met them just inside the Castle.

"Rydia!What brings you here?" he asked, gesturing for them to continue inside.

"It's a long story, Edward, but I have to go.I really don't have time . . . "

"Not even for breakfast?"

That stumped her as she was reminded that she hadn't eaten anything since that tea and crackers with Edge . . . how many nights ago?The dungeon food was repulsive, and she hadn't yet reached the point where she could bring herself to eat such slop, and the prospect of breakfast was very inviting indeed.

"Well . . . "

Edward smiled and directed them both to the dining hall.


	7. In Which, recoveries are made.

  
6)---------- In Which, recoveries are made.  
  
  
"But this is treason!!!" Uriat sputtered, spitting in all directions.  
Rosa snapped her hand to fend off the incoming saliva.  
"Treason has nothing to do with it," she snapped.  
"Nothing to do with it?! But - but - but the Dragoon disobeyed a direct order from the King! That's high treason, Your Majesty!!"  
Not wanting to consider it, Rosa waved her hand at him.  
"Take it up with Cecil, Uriat, not me."  
"King Cecil isn't here, Your Highness."  
"Nor will he be until Kain manages to bring him back."  
Uriat sulked and ran off.  
Cid, who been watching the ordeal, shook his head.  
"I can't believe you're still putting up with that guy," he admitted to Rosa.  
"I know." She sighed. "When Cecil gets back, he is so fired."  
A light knock came at the door.  
"Yes, now what?" Rosa called wearily.  
The door to the Throne Room opened tentatively, and Cami entered in full training armor.  
"Your Majesty," he greeted with a low bow in a low voice.  
"Cami," she greeted, confused, getting to her feet and walking to him. "What are you doing here? You should be with your family!"  
He bowed his head.  
"Kain - Sir Kain - told me to go to the Castle and help protect you in his absence."  
Rosa expression tensed for a moment, suddenly reminded of the terms they'd parted on, then softened as she placed her hands on the boy's shoulders.  
"Did he now. Well, then, Cami, the first thing to know is that my name is Rosa. This is Cid," and she pointed to Cid.  
"Hey, kid," he greeted.  
Cami nodded.  
"The second thing you need to know is," and a cruel grin crossed her features, "that I do not wish to be disturbed by people without proper clearance. Those people include Cid, yourself, Marion, euh . . . and anyone with an emergency. Or something. Those people do not include Chancellors named Uriat. Do you understand, Cami?"  
He blinked, not understanding.  
"Yes, Your Majesty."  
"Rosa."  
"Yes, Rosa."  
"Let's try this again. Do you understand, Cami?"  
"No, Rosa, I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about."  
She laughed.  
"That's better. Okay, Cami, let me just tell you exactly why Chancellors named Uriat are not to be admitted to my presence . . . "  
"He's an idiot, and he's getting on her nerves," Cid interjected.  
"Oh," Cami said, suddenly catching on.  
Rosa grinned.  
"Thank you, Cid."  
"Anytime." He paused. "Rosa . . . the room's spinning."  
She caught her breath, but before she could take a step toward him, the Engineer collapsed into an unconscious heap on the floor.  
  
"And here we are," Rydia finished, shoving a whole muffin into her mouth and chewing contentedly.  
Edward turned to Timothy.  
"Clever," he complimented.  
Timothy snickered.  
"I know."  
A young girl then, about Timothy's age, bounded into the room and jumped onto Edward's lap, nearly knocking him out of his chair.  
"Yaach! How many times do I have to tell you, you're getting too big to do that?!" Edward groaned.  
The girl just giggled.  
Rydia swallowed her muffin.  
"Hey, Chia," she greeted the little one. "This is Timothy." She gestured to her companion. "Timothy, this is Chia, my student in Damcyan."  
"I'm gonna learn to call Leviathan!" Timothy declared.  
Rydia broke up laughing.  
"Oh yeah?" Chia replied. "You have to defeat him first. Can you defeat Leviathan?"  
Timothy squared his ten-year-old shoulders.  
"Sure I can!"  
"Then you should be able to defeat me!" she retorted and jumped off Edward's lap, knocking Timothy to the floor.  
"OW!" he yelled.   
Chia giggled and ran from the room, Timothy in hot pursuit.  
"Kids," Rydia muttered. Edward caught her gaze, and they both broke up laughing.  
"What are you going to do now?" he asked her a moment later.  
She sighed.  
"I don't know for sure. Just that I'm heading back to the Land of Summoned Monsters. I think they know something about Masamune that they haven't told me."  
"What makes you say that?"  
So Rydia told him about the inscription on the sword, and how she'd recognized it from her studies in the Land of Summoned Monsters, at the library.  
"I see. And you think they'll know what may have happened to him?"  
"I hope so. I just - I - well, I just really hope he's not . . . you know."  
"Yes, I know."  
She nodded, and noticed for the first time that she was still covered in grime from the dungeon.  
"Say, Edward, do you mind if I get cleaned up before I go?"  
"No problem."  
  
About an hour later, she was finally ready to depart from Damcyan, full, clean, and with a fresh set of clothing.  
"Thanks for everything, Edward," she said as she prepared to mount Chocobo. "I hope Timothy doesn't cause too many problems for you . . . "  
"I think Chia will keep him occupied," he assured her. "There're enough kids around here anyway. He'll be fine."  
She nodded.  
"And thanks for the dress. My clothes were just filthy . . . "  
"I know."  
"Where'd you get this, anyway? No offense, Edward, but you're not exactly the dress type. I hope."  
He had to laugh at that.  
"No, it was supposed to be for Anna . . . but I have no need of it now. You keep it."  
Her hand flew to her mouth.  
"Oh, Edward, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, upset to have raised Anna's memory. "Really, I shouldn't take it - "  
"No, you should. In fact, wait here a moment," and he left her standing there and rushed back into the Castle.  
"I feel horrible now," she whined to Chocobo.  
He ruffled his feathers at her.  
"Why? He let you have it, and you look . . . well, to tell you the truth, you remind me a lot of my cousin - "  
"All I want right now is to find out what's happened to Edge!"  
Edward's speedy return startled her. He pushed an item into her hands.  
"The Twinharp?!" she exclaimed, identifying it at a glance. "I don't get it."  
"Rydia, I'm sure I'm not the only one to have noticed that you're constantly getting captured or beat up by somebody these days. This is for added security. Just in case something happens, help can be reached."  
She had to admit that he was right - she was almost constantly getting captured or beaten up. Ah, she was growing predictable. Something had to be done.  
"Thanks, Edward," she said again, throwing her arms tightly around him.  
"Just be careful," he told her.  
"I'll try."  
And she got up on Chocobo.  
"Okay, Chocobo, let's go home."  
"'Bout time."  
  
"He's at Mt. Ordeals," Edge told Kain, startling the Dragoon who hadn't noticed his arrival.  
"Hey! Don't startle me like that!"  
"Sorry."  
"Mt. Ordeals? What's he doin' there?"  
"Bleeding."  
"Oh."  
"I think you should hurry, Kain. He's defeated Masters, but didn't get more than a few steps away before he collapsed from the looks of things. Masters' blood has entered Cecil's bloodstream."  
"Oh, @#$%!!"  
"Exactly. But I couldn't get close. There're some strange little animals there, and for some reason, I can't get near them. It's like they have some kind of barrier up."  
"Okay. I'll deal with them when I get there."  
Already, Kain and his chocobo were taking off at the poor bird's top speed, which was beginning to dwindle after the hard night of travel.   
Edge floated alongside them for a time. On the Chocobo, they should reach Mt. Ordeals within a few hours from their present location.  
"Kain, I've gotta go."  
"Huh? Where're you going?"  
"I - I have to check on things at my Kingdom."  
Kain nodded.  
"I understand."  
And Edge vanished from beside him.  
Hang in there, Cecil.  
  
Cecil lay where he'd fallen, all sense of consciousness long since gone from him. The two strange little animals Bahamut had termed "Mogs" continued to dance around him.  
"Kupo kupo!" one said.  
"Kupi kupi!" the other replied.  
"Kupo!"  
"Kupi!"  
"Kupo?"  
"Kupi Kupoppo!!"  
"Kupo!"  
But their chatter meant nothing to the half-Lunarian who lay at their feet. As Marion had found, when the victim fell unconscious, his entire life began to replay through his mind, until it would come to the present, at which time he would cease to exist.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(The Beginning)  
  
A very young boy, a very small boy, sat on a log by a small pond, crying as if his heart were breaking. He was oblivious to the forest around him, oblivious to the water before him. The only thing he cared about was the cause of his tears.  
At length, the forest parted to give way to another young boy, just as small, with thick blond hair, who stood just in the trees, watching the other with interest. Finally, after watching for as long as childhood patience would allow, he stepped into the small clearing and made his presence known.  
"Why are you crying?" he asked the little boy on the log.  
The boy who was crying lifted his face out of his hands and regarded the newcomer.  
"Because my mother just died," he replied, and began crying again.  
The second boy considered that with a frown, then brightened up.  
"Then she's in heaven!"  
"Huh?" asked the first. "What's that?"  
"My momma says, she says that when someone dies, they go to heaven! So that must be where your momma is!" He clapped his hands, overjoyed with this revelation.  
The first boy, the one who was crying, just looked at him.  
"What's heaven?" he asked, sniffling.  
"Oh," said the blond boy, "it's a real nice place! Everyone's happy there, and they can do whatever they want, and play all day if they feel like it, and no one's ever sad there!"  
"Really?" The first boy wiped away some of his tears. "And my mother's there?"  
"Well, was she nice?" asked the second.  
"Yeah, she was nice."  
"Then she's in heaven!"  
"So she's happy?"  
"Course! I told you, no one's ever sad there!"  
The first boy thought for a long time.  
"Okay," he said, brightening up a bit, but looking a little suspicious. "Then I guess I should be happy too."  
"Yep!" sang the second. "Let's go play!"  
"But . . . " and the first looked like he was going to burst back into tears. "But I miss her!"  
The second boy got a thoughtful look on his face.  
"Then I guess you should talk to my momma. She'll tell you what to do. Come with me."  
The first boy watched as the second turned to go, feeling torn between his sadness at his mother's absence, and curiosity at what this strange boy's mother would say to him that would make everything all right. Finally, he decided to follow the second boy.  
"My name's Cecil," he said, catching up with the other boy, "and I'm three!" he added, holding up four fingers.  
The other boy pointed at each finger and counted out loud.  
"One, two, three . . . four! That's one finger too many!"  
"Oh." Little Cecil looked crestfallen, unable to believe he'd made such a mistake.  
"I'm Kain," said his new friend, "and I'm four!" He held up three fingers.  
Cecil, still very shaky with his numbers, counted slowly.  
"One . . . t-two . . . f-thr . . . fo . . . three. Three. That's one finger too few!"  
Kain laughed, but it wasn't a mean laugh, Cecil thought. Not like his father's. It was a friendly laugh. So he laughed too, and followed Kain to his house.  
  
"This is my house!" Kain said, pointing at the house in front of them.  
Cecil looked up at it.  
"Wow!" he exclaimed in awe. "Two floors!!"  
"My Daddy's a member of the Royal Guard, so we get a big house," Kain explained.   
Cecil followed the other boy into the house.  
"This is Momma!" Kain exclaimed, running and throwing his arms around a tall woman who was cooking something.  
Cecil started sniffling. His mother used to cook. She'd cook everyday.  
"Momma, this is Cecil," Kain said, pulling Momma over to him.   
"Pleased to meet you, Cecil," Momma said, extending her hand. Cecil shyly took it and was startled when she shook it warmly.  
"His mother died," Kain told her.  
A strange look crossed Momma's face.  
"Oh . . . I see."  
"So I told 'im that she was in heaven so he didn't have to be sad, but he says he's still sad! What should he do?"  
Momma examined Cecil carefully, and he felt nervous under the searching gaze of her deep red eyes.   
"What was your mother's name, Cecil?" she asked in a gentle voice.  
He blinked at her.  
"Mother," he replied.  
She laughed softly.  
"Of course. Well, Cecil, of course you're still sad. It's always sad when someone we love leaves us, because we miss them. Do you miss your Mother, Cecil?"  
He nodded, sniffling.  
"Oh, there, there. That's all right. It's good to miss her. It helps you remember her. Do you remember her? Her face? Her voice?"  
He nodded again.  
"She was pretty . . . and she'd sing to me."  
Kain popped up next to him.  
"Just like Momma! She's pretty, and she sings to me!"  
"Now, Kain," Momma laughed, blushing.  
"Sing to us, Momma!" Kain begged. "Please?"  
"Later, Darling, later. Now, Cecil," she said, turning her attention back to the three-year-old in front of her, "as long as you remember her, a part of her will always be with you."  
Cecil felt confused.  
"But I thought she was in heaven."  
"Oh, she is. But she's watching you from up there. And while she's watching, she's with you."  
"Oh. I get it."  
"Do you feel better?"  
"I still miss her."  
"That's okay, Cecil." She looked over her shoulder at Kain, then back. "Are you hungry, Dear?"  
It took Cecil a moment to realize she was talking to him.  
"Me?"  
"Yes, you! You look like you haven't eaten all day! A growing boy like you needs good meals, right, Kain?"  
"I'm hungry, Momma!" he promptly exclaimed. He tried to climb up into a chair, but ended up falling head-over-heels back on the floor. "I'm okay!" he assured them.  
Momma set him back on his feet.  
"But I'm still hungry!"  
"You always are. What about you, Cecil? Are you hungry?"  
He stared at his feet and nodded slowly.  
"Fine then," Momma told him. "You follow Kain, he'll show you where to wash up, and you can eat lunch with us. Is that okay with you?"  
He nodded gratefully, and ran off after his new friend.  
"Isn't Momma nice?" Kain asked as he washed his hands.  
"Yeah! Momma's real nice! She's a lot like Mother . . . only . . . not."  
"That's okay! You can come over all the time so we can play!"  
Cecil looked at him in confusion.  
"Like . . . a friend?"  
"Of course, you silly goose!"  
"Oh! I've never had a friend before!"  
"Really? Well that's okay! Have you ever had a sister before?"  
"A sister? No."  
"Well then, you're lucky. I have a sister. A half-sister. That means we have the same Momma, but different Daddy's. She's nine!"  
"Why do you have different Daddy's?"  
"Because one of them was eaten by a dragon!"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah!"  
"Cool!"  
"That is not cool, you little kid!" objected a loud voice.  
Cecil turned in shock and stared at the girl behind them. She was tall - taller than he was, but nowhere as near as Momma, or as his Father. She had deep red eyes just like Kain and Momma, but had black hair that made her look really spooky.  
"MOMMA!" she yelled. "Kain's telling people about Dad!"  
Momma bustled into the room.  
"Veronica, leave the boys alone. Kain, don't go spreading stories. Now poor Cecil must feel like he's entered a madhouse."  
"What's a madhouse?" Kain asked.  
"Where you're going!" Veronica snapped.  
"I am not!! Momma, what's a madhouse?"  
"Veronica, go out to the kitchen and eat. Kain, Cecil, why don't you both go outside? I'll bring out your lunch."  
And Momma and Veronica left them alone.  
Cecil started giggling.  
"What's so funny?" Kain demanded.  
"I like having a friend!" he explained, and started giggling some more.  
Kain started giggling too, although it didn't seem like he quite knew why, and he flung an arm around Cecil's shoulder and showed him the front yard.  
  
***  
  
Kain drew up into an area he knew was near Mt. Ordeals, and that he also knew was teeming with monsters. It always was. Therefore, he was more than a little surprised when he crossed the area without incident. Then he heard a voice.  
"Kupo, kupo?"  
Looking around, he finally looked down and saw a tiny white animal on the ground, looking up at him.  
"Kupo!" it said, "Kupo kupo!"  
And it took off into the overgrowth.  
Without knowing exactly why, Kain directed his chocobo to follow the little creature.  
He followed for a little over an hour, and then they suddenly burst into a clearing.   
In the clearing lay Cecil, unconscious, bleeding, and with skin purple enough to match his hair perfectly in shade.  
He slid off his chocobo and knelt on the ground beside him, whipping off his left glove and placing it against Cecil's neck to check for a pulse. Slight relief filled him to feel the faint thud of blood coursing through his veins - at least he was still alive.  
Somehow, Masters had managed to claw right through Cecil's Armor, leaving terrible gashes all over his chest and shoulder. Kain, glad to have come prepared, began cracking open the HiPotions he'd brought, using all five of them on Cecil. The wounds glowed and healed, but Cecil made no signs of consciousness.  
Kain had expected as much. Edge was right, it looked like Masters' blood had mixed with Cecil's. He was already reliving his life in his subconscious, and it was only a matter of time before he ceased to be . . .   
Feeling oddly helpless kneeling there, Kain pushed Cecil's hair away from his face and put his hand on his forehead. No fever, normal temperature, but sweating up a storm. Just like Cami had. Just like all the others had.  
"Kupo kupo!" exclaimed one of the little animals.  
Looking up, Kain saw a large monster charging right at him. Even as he ripped out his Lance to fight the creature, though, it slammed against an invisible barrier and fell back. Then it shook its head and scampered off, tail between its legs.  
"Kupi kupi!" snapped the other little animal.  
"You did that, didn't you?" Kain realized, breathless. "You're the little animals Edge said he couldn't come near! You've been . . . protecting Cecil?"  
"Kupo kupo!"  
Kain shook his head.  
"I don't know what you two are . . . but thank you."  
He heaved Cecil up on one shoulder and slung his limp body over the back of his chocobo for the ride back to Baron.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(KluYa)  
  
A young man, about fifteen, sat on a grassy hillside near Baron, engulfed fully with the diagrams he was studying. Such was his concentration that he didn't notice the approach of the stranger on the chocobo until he was upon him.  
Looking up with a start as a shadow fell across the diagram, he held up a hand to shield his gaze from the sun and stared at the newcomer. Not many outsiders traveled to Baron anymore, not with all the recent attacks on the Kingdom.  
"Excuse me," said the newcomer in a smooth voice, "I'm a little lost. Can you tell me where I am?"  
"You're just outside the City of Baron," the student replied.  
"Ah yes . . . Baron . . . "  
The man on the chocobo seemed to, for a moment, forget the boy sitting on the ground.  
Realizing this, the boy pulled himself to his feet to get a better look at this stranger. He seemed normal enough looking, fairly tall, well built, but his appearance seemed strange, somehow. After a moment of consideration, the boy realized why as the man returned his attention to him.  
His eyes blazed like bright green fire, suddenly making the rest of the world seem . . . dark, somehow.  
"What's your name, young man?" he inquired lightly.  
Stepping aside so as not to trample his diagrams, the boy staunchly replied, "My name's Cid. My father is the Head Engineer for the Kingdom."  
"Really?" The man seemed intrigued by that. "Perhaps I should speak with him. I am . . . an engineer of sorts, myself."  
"Are you?" Cid replied, politely. "I am too . . . or I will be. Soon. Very soon."  
The stranger seemed to find that funny.  
"What are you studying?"  
Cid swept up the diagram with one wild flourish.  
"We found this in the ancient records - the King wants us to try and make sense of the diagram, and reproduce this . . . this thing."  
The man slid down off his chocobo and looked over the diagram with interest.  
"Amazing . . . they once had Airship technology . . . " Cid heard him muse under his breath.  
"Pardon?"  
"Euh . . . " the man shook himself slightly. "Nothing."  
Cid pressed the point.  
"Are you familiar with this?"  
The man frowned thoughtfully.  
"In theory . . . I suppose . . . I've dealt with something similar." He again examined the diagram closely. "Do you know what you're looking at, Cid?"  
"A diagram."  
"Yes, but for what?"  
"A . . . a flying thing, we think. Whatever it is, it's supposed to have had great offensive abilities . . . "  
"Offensive abilities. So that's what it's all about."  
"Well, we are at war."  
"Are you really?"  
Cid glanced up at him, startled by his surprise.  
"Um, yeah. Where've you been?"  
The man grinned.  
"You'd never believe me." He extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Cid. My name is KluYa."  
  
***  
  
Leviathan was still pacing back and forth nervously, and Asura was still nagging him. When the door flew open with a burst of antagonized force, they both jumped, and Leviathan whacked his head against the roof of the cavern.  
"Hello, Rydia," he said, rubbing his head, as she strode into the room. "Where've you been?"  
"The Eblanian dungeon!" she snapped, plopping herself down in the middle of the floor. "I need you to tell me what you know about Masamune."  
"Masamune?!" he echoed, throwing a frantic glance to Asura, who shrugged. "W-well, what's to know? It's a sword . . . one of the Crystal Weapons fashioned by the Lunarians . . . "  
"Oh, shove it!!" she yelled, storming to her feet and into his face with one gesture. Her very vehemence knocked him off guard. "Masamune's not a Crystal Weapon, and it wasn't fashioned by Lunarians! And it's not stupid, and it's angry! And it's done something to Edge, and I intend to get him back, so you'd better 'fess up!!!!"  
Any other human would have never dared use such a tone to Leviathan, and if someone had been foolish enough to do so, they would have been vaporized on sight. In this case, however, Leviathan just stood in frozen shock, staring at her.  
"Masamune's none of our concern, Rydia," Asura said, coming to her husband's rescue. "If, by chance, it's not of the origin that's recorded, than there's little we can - "  
"Stop playing me for a fool!!" Rydia screamed. "I don't care how deep your secrets go, I don't care if there're things that, as a human, I shouldn't know! You know something about that Sword! You know, and I will find out, because I'm going to do whatever it takes to figure out what happened to Edge, and save him, unless it's already too late, and if it's not, the longer you keep trying to avoid the subject, the more likely it becomes that it will be too late! Maybe you don't care about the affairs of mortals, but I do!!"  
"Now, now, Rydia, don't go saying that we don't care - "  
"Then why won't you tell me?! Eh?!" And, on a sudden burst of inspiration, she ran from the room. They followed on her heels.  
"Rydia, won't you just calm down and - "  
"I've been calm enough, Leviathan! All the years I've been here, I've been calm! And I've never had a problem with it! But right now, I am not calm, and I will not be until I have the answers I need!"  
The streets of the Town of Monsters parted as she stormed through, followed closely by the King and Queen. She pivoted and stormed into the Library, instantly heading for the shelf and book where she remembered coming across the ancient script she'd read on Masamune.  
"This!" she snarled, pulling out the book and opening it to the script inside, unreadable by any human for thousands of years. (After much work, she thought once that she'd translated it correctly, but what ensued was the phrase "Windows for Dummies", and she'd given up) "This language is inscribed on the Sword, showing that it is not only of Earth origin, but . . . " she checked the date, "dating back to before the time of the first Light Warriors! And you go pulling some crap about Lunarian Fashioned whatever . . . don't you see?! I have to figure out how to defeat it! It threw me across the room and tried to kill me, it possessed Edge into its power, and it made him vanish into thin air! I have to find him!! I have to!!!"  
Leviathan placed his clawed hands firmly on her shoulders.  
"Rydia, calm down. Don't say anything," he snapped as she started to object. "Calm down and be quiet." He looked over at Asura, who again shrugged. "Masamune . . . Masamune is more than we can handle. It's powerful - more so than any of us. We can't defeat it when it's angry. So we leave it alone. That's the way it's always been."  
"How did it end up on the Moon?" she inquired.  
"It, along with all the others, are of Earth origin," he continued in a tense voice, as if it pained him to say any of this. "When the Lunarians first came to Earth and found that the people of the time wouldn't be able to handle their presence, they took the weapons with them, because they were needed, and the Lunarians found them powerful enough for their purposes. After the battle, they were hidden on the Moon beneath the Lunarian Palace. They were so powerful . . . " and his breath trailed off for a moment, "that they didn't dare allow them back into the hands of humanity."  
Rydia, now sufficiently calm, regarded him with wide eyes.  
"They don't seem that powerful."  
"They don't want to."  
She broke away from his hold and wandered in a loose circle.  
"So what can I do? How can I defeat it, or at least make it listen to me?"  
Leviathan shook his head.  
"I'm obliged to say you can't."  
Rydia wasn't willing to take that as an answer.  
"If you can't," and she turned to include Asura in her biting remark, "then I have to call someone who can."  
And she swiftly brushed past them, outside the library.  
Somewhat in a daze, the two watched her go.  
"That's not her dress," Asura heard herself remark.  
"No. She looks strange. What's so strange about how she looks?" Leviathan observed, blinking.  
"She's wearing white," Asura snapped. "That, along with the green hair, gives her a startling resemblance to my cousin's nephew's - "  
"It's not just that. Is it?"  
"Yes. She looks like Shmoo."  
"Shmoo? There is no resemblance between Rydia and Shmoo."  
"The green hair? The color white?"  
Leviathan snapped his claws.  
"A bricklayer! She looks like a bricklayer!"  
"A bricklayer?! Come off it, Leviathan. She looks like Shmoo. Deal with it."  
"Leave Shmoo out of this."  
"What do you have against my family?!"   
Leviathan opted for a strategic subject change.  
"I wonder where she's going?"  
Then it dawned on them both, and they frantically bolted for the door, hitting it at the same time and getting stuck.  
"Rydia!!" Asura yelled. "Don't! You'll bring more wrath down on us than - "  
But the sudden flash of green light showed that the young Caller had already completed her summons.  
  
The monsters who had been milling around on their daily business stopped and turned in shock as King Bahamut appeared, barely fitting in the cavern with his wings outstretched.  
Ignoring them, he landed lightly on the ground beside Rydia.  
"You Called?" he inquired tensely, reminding her with his tone that he was not to be Summoned for trivial matters.  
"I need your help," Rydia informed him in a tight voice. "Masamune took Edge. I need to get him back."  
Bahamut frowned, although Rydia couldn't tell from his draconic features.  
"Come with me," he ordered after a moment, scooping her up with one wing and depositing her on his back.  
On-looking monsters widened their eyes with shock. Bahamut was letting a human ride him?  
Continuing to ignore them, Bahamut, without waiting to see if she was secure, spread his great wings and took them up, out of the Town, out of the cave, and into the huge cavern of the underworld.  
"Masamune is not to be trifled with lightly," he stated.  
"So Leviathan and Asura told me," she replied. "But I have to get Edge back."  
Bahamut's frown deepened, but still, she couldn't tell. He altered his flight and took them soaring up through the portal to the Overworld.  
The bright burst of sunlight as they emerged in the blue sky startled Rydia so she almost fell, but she kept her grip on Bahamut and maintained her balance.  
"What can I do?" she demanded. "There must be some way."  
She felt his snort even as the wind stole his voice away.  
"Of course there's a way," he admonished, turning his head over his shoulder so she could hear his words. "For you, there is. Very few others have the ability . . . I can't even say for sure that you do."  
"I'll take the chance," she replied. "Masamune took him while he was trying to protect me."  
"I see."  
They flew on in silence for a time, and she figured that he must be trying to decide what to say to her next. Letting her attention wander for a bit, she looked down beneath them as the world flew by below. She could only guess the reactions of the people in the towns below as the great dragon flew by . . .   
"There is one spell in all of history that has been able to subdue Masamune," he finally told her in a grim tone. "Many times, people believe they have mastered the dark sword, but in fact, it has a habit of playing with its users . . . lets them feel powerful, when in truth, it laughs at their attempts. Masamune's power is very great. It's survived well over ten thousand years of recorded history . . . and quite possibly longer than that.  
"Our earliest official record of Masamune if from approximately twelve thousand years ago - back when humanity was rather an ultramodern society, rather than the primitive cave-people today's humans tend to believe. Masamune helped to bring down that society . . . was wielded by the madman who summoned the black force that nearly obliterated the world."  
"What good would that do for it?" Rydia inquired.  
"I will not speak for Masamune's motives. It vanished after the Great Meteor crashed, some claimed that it had been destroyed, others that it had vanished into nothing. It appeared later, though, many times, more than any history could ever recount."  
"Edge . . . Edge may know. He told me that Masamune spoke to him through dreams, making him live through other times where Masamune was in power . . . "  
Bahamut nodded.  
"Quite likely." He sighed. "Magic was very different in those days, Rydia. Materia Orbs, they called it. Simpler than modern spells . . . the Orbs were the source of magic. It saved studying for years and years to learn the basics . . . but for us, the Summoned Monsters and the Espers, it was a prison. We were held within the Orbs like genies in bottles."  
"Like what?"  
"Never mind. Asura told you of how we once lived out among the world, among humans?"  
"Yes."  
"That came later. After the Materia, but before the Land of Summoned Monsters. During the millennia after the Meteor crashed, the Materia were thrown into disuse due to . . . complications. As time went on, their power drained, and then they would shatter, allowing the power that fueled them to return to what the humans had termed the 'Lifestream'." Again he sighed. "They misinterpreted . . . but anyway, as the Summon Materia shattered, we were set free, and most of us chose to live, hidden, in various places all over the Earth. These places changed, from time to time, as was necessary, and eventually, the Land of Summoned Monsters was built as a resting place, an escape for our kind. Later, when it became mandatory for us to remain away from the humans, most moved there, except for myself and a few others . . . "  
"Like Odin? He lived beneath Castle Baron?"  
"Odin is a geek. Just let that be."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Three thousand years later, only four of these Materia Orbs remained, the ultra-powerful Orbs known as Huge Materia. By this time, however, knowledge of their usage and abilities were long since lost. Known only as ORBS, they were used as power sources by the first of the Light Warriors in our history. Nothing is known of them after that, although rumors are told of how they each shattered, and the pieces formed the original crystals of power. That, we'll never know.  
"But Masamune was there. As a Dark Sword, it prevailed for thousands of years, building up power, waiting, striking at various points in history."  
He dived suddenly, making Rydia catch her breath.  
"Now is one of those points."  
"How can I stop it?" she asked, repeating her initial question.  
"There is one spell, a Black spell, which can subdue Masamune."  
"A DRAIN spell?" she speculated.  
He nodded.  
"DRAIN9."  
"Nine?! That's . . . that's impossible!!!"  
"No, just very dangerous. Few humans ever possess the stamina for such a spell. Characters such as the Sage Tellah were killed from the strain of a spell like Meteo . . . this is easily three times as powerful.  
"With it, you can drain the power from Masamune, and force it to submit to your will."  
"But," she exclaimed, "I thought it already had to submit to my will! Mine, and Edge's, Kain's, Cecil's, and Rosa's! We defeated it!"  
"When Masamune's power is great enough, it tends to forget about the powers that bind it."  
She was silent for a long time, watching the world fly by beneath them, thinking.  
"I'll take the risk," she finally said. "Maybe I'm not exactly sure why . . . but I'll do it. What's the spell?"  
He soared upward again.  
"I will teach you."  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Lunar Encounter)  
  
Cecil lay in his bed, trying not to breathe. It had been about half a year since Mother had died, and his life at home had been . . . well . . . not the best.  
He heard the door to their little house outside of Baron open and slam against the wall, and heard it slam closed again.  
"Cecil!" came the drunken shout. "Cecil, get out here!"  
Suddenly feeling like crying, the little boy pulled himself from the security of his blankets and into the main room of the house.  
Dad was swaggering around the room, as he did every night.  
"What did you do today, Cecil?" he snapped.  
"I - "  
"I said what did you do today?!"  
"Nothing!" he cried, knowing what was coming next.  
Dad cuffed him over the head.  
"You did somethin'!" he snarled. "You always do somethin' . . . half the time with your loser friend in the City . . . "  
"Dad!" Cecil objected, rubbing his head.  
"Don't you be talkin' back, ya hear!!" Dad yelled, raising his hand at the boy.  
Cecil panicked. His four-year-old mind couldn't process fast enough to keep up with his legs, and before he knew what has happening, he was running.  
"You get back here!!!" he heard Dad yell as he flew through the door and out into the night. "Useless no good . . . "  
And the sound trailed off as he kept running.  
He ran and ran, letting the memories of the past six months fly in front of his eyes. At first, he started to cry, but then turned the energy to his legs, so he could keep running. Where he was going, he wasn't sure.  
The road split, and he turned left. He knew left. He knew where it took him. It was something familiar, something safe in this terrible night.  
Darkness was all around. Finally, thoroughly exhausted, he collapsed in the middle of the road, a huddled mass, shaking. It was dark. It was cold. He didn't know what to do now.  
He couldn't go home. Dad would hit him. So he got up and continued on.  
As he approached the Kingdom, though, his journey reached a dead end.  
"You there!" called one of the Sentries as he approached the City Walls. "Out in the open!"  
Swallowing nervously, he walked up to the gate, protected by two Guards who were, in his child's eyes, the two biggest and meanest looking men he'd ever seen.  
The one who had called to him now looked him over with surprise.  
"What're you doing out this late, kid?" he asked.  
"I . . . . today's my birthday."  
The two Guards looked at each other.  
"Euh . . . what're you doin' here, kid?" asked the second. "Why aren't you home?"  
"Today's my birthday!"  
"Yeah . . . that's real nice. Where do you live, boy?"  
Cecil had begun to shake all over again.  
"I live with my Dad! But not anymore! It's my birthday!"  
The first Guard, a compassionate look crossing his face, stepped forward and put his hands on the little boy's shoulders.  
"Listen, kid," he said in a gentle tone, "I don't think you'd be wandering the roads in the middle of the night unless something was wrong. Is something wrong?"  
Cecil looked at him for a long moment, deciding that maybe he didn't look so mean after all.  
He opened his mouth to speak, but found that no sound could come out.  
"What's your name?"  
"Cecil." That much he could say.  
"And where do you live, Cecil? It's late, your parents are probably worried," the second Guard interjected.  
He shook his head.  
"No . . . not worried." He sniffled. "Today's my birthday."  
"Who's your daddy?" asked the first.  
Cecil opened his mouth to reply, but a strange feeling crossed over him. A strange, tingling sensation. His knees buckled beneath him. The last thing he remembered seeing was the image of the two moons in eclipse as he fell to the ground . . .  
  
When he opened his eyes again, it was into brightness. The sun - it shone so bright it hurt his eyes. Raising his hands to block the light, he sat up.  
He was sitting in a bed, a nice, soft one. The room was little, but it was nice. In fact, he knew this room. He knew it well.  
Kain was sitting on a stool near him, watching him curiously.  
"Wow!" he exclaimed at Cecil's movement. "I thought you were going to sleep all day!"  
Cecil shook his head.  
"Wha - "  
"Cecil!" He turned to the door. It was Momma. She came bustling in with a large glass full of a funny-looking liquid, and sat next to him on the bed. "Oh, I'm so glad you're awake! How's your head feeling?"  
He put a hand to his head.  
"Fine," he replied politely, although it was really throbbing terribly. He couldn't remember coming here . . . how had he come here?  
"Drink this," Momma was telling him, holding the glass to his lips. "It's a deluded Potion . . . it'll make you feel better."  
He winced at the taste of the bitter liquid.  
"Yuck!" he spattered.  
Kain laughed.  
"I told you he was all right, Momma!"   
"Yes, that you did, Kain."  
Cecil shook his head.  
"Why'm I here?" he asked, still feeling a little woozy.  
Momma turned a concerned gaze on him.  
"You were wandering around the City Walls at two in the morning last night, Cecil. Before the Guards could figure out who you were, you passed out, and they brought you in. Abraham recognized you and brought you here."  
Abraham was Kain's Daddy, Cecil remembered. He'd only met him once or twice . . .  
"Cecil?"  
"Yes?"  
"What were you doing wandering around in the middle of the night?"  
All at once, the memory hit him.  
"Today's my birthday," he said, sadly.  
"Woah!" Kain exclaimed. "You mean you're four, now?"  
Cecil nodded, Kain's enthusiasm lightening his mood.  
"Cool!" Kain almost yelled. "Now we're the same age!!!"  
"Kain, hush," Momma scolded. "Yes, Cecil, happy birthday. But what were you doing at that hour? And why do you have that bump on your head?"  
Again, Cecil put his hands to his head.  
"The Guards say you didn't hit it when you collapsed. What happened?"  
Cecil looked down at the floor.  
"Today's my birthday," was all he could say.  
"Momma!" Kain brightly informed her, "You need to make Cecil a birthday cake!"  
"Kain, stay quiet," she ordered in a firm voice.  
Kain looked dejected and sulked on his stool.  
Cecil also looked dejected. He felt dejected.  
Momma made him look up at her, seeing his dejection.  
"Cecil . . . did your Daddy hit you?"  
"Dad . . . he misses Mother."  
Momma closed her eyes and put her arms around Cecil, shaking. Cecil wasn't sure why she did either - what did it mean to her that his Dad missed Mother?  
Kain watched, also looking confused.  
After a moment, Momma let go of him and pushed him back against the bed.  
"You get your rest, Cecil. When you wake up, we'll all be ready to celebrate your birthday."  
"YES!!!" Kain yelled, jumping up off his stool, miscalculating, and landing with a crash on the floor. "I'm okay!" he assured everyone, upside down.  
Momma picked him up and set him back on his feet.  
"Kain, you let Cecil rest."  
Kain shook his head.  
"No way! I'm stayin' here!" To emphasize his point, he climbed back up on his stool and crossed his arms.  
"You'll bother him, Kain. Leave him alone."  
"I don't bother Cecil! Do I, Cecil?"  
"No!" Cecil answered, although he felt very, very tired, and his head ached terribly, despite the deluded Potion he'd drunk.  
"See, Momma, Cecil hurt his head, so I've gotta take care of him," Kain explained with his four-year-old logic. "It's what best friends do!"  
Momma shook her head.  
"All right. I suppose . . . just let him know if you need anything, Cecil, and he'll yell loud enough to rouse the entire Kingdom."  
Cecil giggled, although he wasn't exactly sure why.   
"Happy birthday, Cecil!" Kain stage-whispered.  
And then he was asleep.  
  
***  
  
Kain didn't know how long he'd been riding. He wasn't sure of the time of day, or the date, or how many days it had been since he'd left to recover Cecil from his hunt for Masters. He just knew that he was dead tired, but didn't dare stop.  
Too much was at stake to give into something silly like sleep.  
Cecil hadn't so much as twitched the whole way. Every now and then, Kain would turn and check his pulse, make sure he was still breathing, and then continue on. There was nothing he could do, and that bothered him. He didn't like being helpless.  
How long it had been, he wasn't sure, but suddenly the monotony of the weary journey was shattered.  
The ground lurched beneath him.   
Clutching at the chocobo, he was amazed the lurch hadn't thrown him to the ground. Looking around, though, he realized that the ground hadn't moved at all.  
He just felt a little dizzy . . .  
The world began to spin. Violently.  
Looking ahead, he was glad beyond belief to see the towers of Castle Baron in the distance. He was almost there.  
The world continued spinning, getting faster and faster. Kain buried his face in the chocobo's neck and kept his eyes shut to block out as much of the motion as he could.   
"Go," he murmured to the bird. "Keep going . . . "  
The chocobo, seeing the sign of civilization, thought of a warm stable and food, lots of food. It picked up its pace.  
While the increase of speed was reassuring to Kain, it said they'd get back even faster, it knocked him off his balance even more. Grinding his teeth hard and keeping one hand on Cecil to keep him from falling, he kept his face buried in the chocobo's bright feathers, and fought to remain conscious.  
"Keep going . . . keep going . . . "  
It became a chant, more to encourage himself than the chocobo, who was going on without his incentive. He had to keep going. Just long enough to get back to Baron . . . to bring back Cecil and the blood of Masters . . . to save everyone . . .  
His mind drowsed. He felt like he was floating, very warm, very still, as if everything was okay . . .   
"Kain!!" came the urgent cry which startled him back to his senses.  
" . . . who - "  
"Stay awake, you stupid Dragoon! Everyone's depending on you!!!"  
Kain looked up just enough to see Edge floating by his side, his expression concerned and frantic all at once. Then the motion caught up with him and he jammed his face back into the chocobo. It offered no sanctuary this time, though. The spinning reached him even through the sunny feathers.  
"I feel so dizzy . . . " he muttered.   
"Stay awake, you idiot!!!" Edge shouted. "You're almost there!! Don't give in now!!"  
" . . . not . . . giving in, you freak . . . just . . . "  
"Just what? Kain, talk to me! Keep talking! Just what? Just what?"  
"Everything's spinning - I can't . . . "  
"Yes you can! Just a few more minutes!"  
"Just . . . "  
"Hang in there, Kain! Hang in there!"  
The Ninja's voice slowly began to fade, and a very numb spark of fear welled up within him.  
Then he was jolted hard as the chocobo slammed to a halt.  
"Wha . . . "  
"Take it easy, sir," drifted a voice he felt he should know. "You're home free . . . "  
He felt someone gently pry his fingers loose from where he'd been holding Cecil secure to the chocobo, and felt hands reaching up to him, lifting him, laying him down on the ground.  
"Kain?" Edge inquired, kneeling over him. "Can you hear me?"  
"Is he still conscious?" someone asked.  
"Yes." Kain forced his eyes open and identified Cami. "He's conscious." Seeing that he'd opened his eyes, the Trainee also knelt beside him. "Sir? Are you okay?"  
He tried to nod, but couldn't tell which way he was moving his head.  
"Is Cecil . . . "  
"We're taking care of him, sir, and we're rushing the blood straight to the pots. The antidote'll be ready as soon as possible."  
All these reassurances. It felt like he was floating in them . . .  
"Kain?" inquired a new voice.  
"Rosa?" he sputtered, opening one eye and realizing for the first time that they'd been shut again. There she was, one hand on his forehead, apology written all over her features.   
"Kain . . . " she said in a low voice, "about what happened before you left . . . I'm sorry about that . . . it's no fault of yours, either. I don't know what came over me."  
He blinked heavily.  
"Rosa . . . "  
She gripped his hand.  
"Yes?"  
"This is so embarrassing . . . "  
Her grip on his fingers tightened.  
"Embarrassing, Kain? How so? It can't be embarrassing, there's no one here to embarrass you. Almost everyone in the Kingdom's fallen, Kain. There's only a handful of us left. No one's laughing, my friend. And for all those fallen, you've just brought back for us the only chance of a cure. Oh, believe me, no one's laughing, my friend."  
"Is . . . "  
She looked at him, concerned, but his vision went blank.  
"Kain?"  
" . . . "  
"Kain?"  
  



	8. Masters' Poison: Early Stages.

  
7)---------- Masters' Poison: Early Stages.  
  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Airships)  
  
KluYa was a genius.   
Cid had to admit it. His father, the Head Engineer, thought he was insane, but Cid knew he was a genius.  
He'd taken the ancient plans they'd found for the "Airship" and managed to decipher them. To some extent, in any case. There was the question of materials, the process of building, and of course, the funds, but other than that, the plans were complete. After only two years since KluYa's arrival, the Airship was ready for construction.  
With them, Baron would be able to get the drop on Eblan, maybe even attack the Kingdom itself without putting the soldiers in danger. That would be nice . . . to stop losing people in this war . . .   
Sitting back away from his meal, Cid sighed, remembering all his school friends who were now dead. Too many. Too many people, just kids, really, like him, were being killed on the battlefield. It was one thing to be loyal to the Kingdom. It was another to watch all your friends' bodies being carted back.  
The Airship. Hello, step right up, we've the answer to all your problems. It would end the war quickly - stop all this madness. Who knew? Maybe, by the time he had his own family, he wouldn't have to fear for their safety the way parents did now. That would be nice . . .  
His thoughts were disrupted by the entrance of his father into the house.  
"Hey, Cid!" he greeted, shutting the door behind him and seating himself at the table.  
"Hey, Dad!" he greeted back. "How's everything going?"  
For what seemed like an eternity, his father remained silent. Then he broke out into a bubbly grin and jumped up and down overcome with mirth. (At least, Cid thought it was mirth. It might have been indigestion.)  
"The King's given us the word! Construction on the Airship begins tomorrow!"  
"YES!!" Cid exclaimed, jumping up into the air. (He himself had mirth, he knew.)  
"You've been a big help, you know," his father continued. "The way you pored over those diagrams . . . the only person who could make sense out of KluYa's ravings . . . "  
"He doesn't rave, Dad," Cid admonished. "He makes perfect sense! When he bothers to speak our language . . . And he's so calm about it, it almost freaks me out. But he's perfectly normal! Except for when he's not."  
"Maybe to you." He shook his head. "Let's just say, kid, that KluYa's made more enemies than friends this past year."  
"But why?!" Cid exclaimed. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"  
"No, and it's bothering people," his father remarked, grimly. "He's strange . . . kinda spooky, really."  
"But - "  
"Stop butting, Cid! You've no need to defend him to me, I've seen how his mind works . . . and I have to say he is a genius. (Either that, or he's so dumb that he looks like a genius.) But he's still spooky. Maybe it's just the hair . . . "  
"He's my friend," Cid stated.  
"That he is, kid."  
  
The next day, as construction began on the Airship, Cid sought out the man in question. He was nowhere to be found at the construction site, and after a frantic search of the town, he finally found KluYa in a far corner of the City, talking with a tall woman with light hair.  
Alexandria, his mind told him. He'd seen her around, never given her any thought.  
"KluYa!" he called.   
Looking up, startled, KluYa saw Cid rushing to them and smiled.  
"Quite a day?" he greeted. "I thought you'd be there when they started on the Airship."  
"I thought you would be!" Cid snapped back with a grin.  
KluYa shrugged, his thick, purple hair falling back around his shoulders.  
"Had something more important to deal with," he told Cid.  
Alexandria smiled softly.  
Cid looked back and forth between them.  
"Oh no. Are you two getting married?"  
They both burst into laughter. It was just a mirth-filled day.  
"I didn't realize it was that obvious . . . " KluYa seemed at a loss for words in this language or any other.  
Cid just laughed at them both.  
"You're right," he said to KluYa. "This is quite a day."  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(School)  
  
"Where're ya goin'?"  
"School, Dad."  
"Since when you goin' to school?"  
"Today's my first day!" Cecil brightly replied, tossing a comb through his violet lockes and tying his shoes. He was very proud - he could tie his own shoes. "I'm five years old! Momma says even though I'm a year early, I should be able to go."  
Dad waggled a finger at him from the chair where he was sitting.  
Where he was always sitting. Ever since . . .  
"Don't you go doin' everything that woman says . . . she's Raider spawn, y'know . . . "  
"Why shouldn't I go?!" Cecil demanded. Ever since Dad's accident, (the whole flinging himself off a tree in a drunken rage, landing on a rabid goat who promptly jumped off a cliff thing) he'd found it easier to speak up for himself . . . maybe it was just because he knew Dad wouldn't be able to react to whatever he said.   
Dad shook his head.  
"I dunno where you get off . . . thinkin' you're so great . . . "  
Cecil looked at him uncertainly.  
"Well . . . I'm going now."  
  
He hurried along the road into the Kingdom with a light heart - going to school everyday meant less time he'd have to spend around at home, with his lame and irritable father. True, he wouldn't have as much time to play, but Momma had told him he'd like school . . .   
Kain was waiting for him at the City Gate.  
"Hey, Cecil!" he called as his friend came into view. "Ready?"  
"I'm nervous!" Cecil admitted.  
Kain shrugged.  
"Sure . . . so am I. But no one can do anything to us! Right?"  
"Yeah! We're good enough for them!"  
  
Class was meaningless to him. He didn't see any point to it at all . . .   
Until at lunch break, when he was wandering around and bumped smack into a . . . a girl!  
"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, light curls bouncing.  
"Excuse me," he replied.  
"That's okay!" she brightly exclaimed. "My name's Rosa!"  
"I'm Cecil!" He looked around. "My best friend's around here somewhere . . . "  
"You have a best friend?"  
"Yep!"  
And, while Cecil continued looking, Kain came running up to them both.  
"Hey!" he instantly suggested, "Wanna go pick on my half-sister?"  
"All right!" Cecil exclaimed.  
"Fat chance!!" came a voice from behind them.  
Even as Cecil and Kain turned, Veronica grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it over Kain's head.  
"HEY!" he squealed.  
"Kain - " Cecil began, astonished, but was cut off as Rosa grabbed another small bucket of water and tossed it over him. "HEY!!"  
The two girls laughed and ran off.  
"Cecil," Kain said after they'd dripped there for a few minutes, "I don't think I like school much."  
"Me neither."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Monsters)  
  
Kain crossed his arms defiantly.  
"I don't have to listen to you! You're just a girl!"  
Veronica crossed her arms back.  
"One thing you'll never be able to change, Kain, and that's the fact that I'm older than you! So you have to do what I say!"  
Infuriated, Kain stalked off away and sat on his bed, sulking.  
Momma came into the room.  
"What happened now, Kain?" she asked in a tired voice.  
"I didn't do anything!" he insisted. "I didn't!"  
She shook her head and leaned against the wall.  
"Did you get in another fight?"  
He snapped to his feet.  
"I didn't get into it! It got into me!"  
Momma pounded her fists into the wall behind her.  
"Kain, you can't keep doing this!!"  
"I can't help it! And Veronica shouldn't keep telling me what to do!"  
"She's trying to talk some sense into you!" Momma snapped. "Like everyone is!"  
Kain dropped back on his bed, sulking some more.  
"What happened this time?" she sighed.  
For a long moment, he didn't reply.  
"It was Rosa."  
"Rosa?" Momma frowned. "You fought with Rosa?"  
"No!" he objected. "No, Baigan knocked her down, so I beat him up. Again. But I didn't use a stick this time!!!!!"  
"Baigan?" She frowned deeper. "I told you to stop pounding your elders. He's twice your size!"  
In spite of himself, Kain couldn't help but feel proud.  
"Yep. He's a sissy."  
She knelt in front of him on the floor.  
"Kain, listen to me. You're ten years old. You shouldn't be out beating up other kids!"  
Kain sighed and looked away, around the room, all over the place. He'd heard this speech so many times . . .  
"You're making yourself a reputation! When you're an adult, no one will want anything to do with you, because everyone will remember that you pounded their faces in when you were in school!"  
"I wouldn't want to have anything to do with them, either," he sulked.  
Momma looked almost as if she were going to cry, and left the room without another word.  
For a long time, Kain sat there, thinking. Well, what was he supposed to do? Just sit around while other people kept pushing smaller people around? Especially when he knew he could take them down?  
After considering things for a while, he got up and, without saying anything to Veronica, who was glaring at him from the kitchen table as he left the house, began searching for Cecil. He had a good idea of where to find him -   
  
He knocked on the front door, realizing as an afterthought that in the seven years since they'd been friends, he'd never once been inside of Cecil's house.  
Almost immediately, the door flew open.  
"Kain!" Cecil exclaimed, looking startled. "W-what are you doing here?"  
"You busy?" Kain inquired. "I need to talk."  
Cecil threw a hesitant look over his shoulder, then nodded.  
"I'll be right out . . . "  
The door closed quickly, and he heard a shout from inside, followed by a series of low hisses and a few spits he couldn't make out. Then the door opened again, and Cecil strode out.  
"What's up?" he asked.  
"Momma's all upset with me because I keep fighting."  
Cecil nodded.  
"It is kinda freaky, I guess. But cool. You really kick butt, man!"  
Kain shrugged self-consciously as they walked along.  
"But I don't mean to!"  
"Well," Cecil told him, "maybe you should make like your Dad."  
"What, and join the King's Guard?"  
"Heck, then you could beat people up, and get paid for it!"  
Kain found the concept intriguing.  
They walked on in silence, neither realizing how far from the Kingdom they were going, until Cecil's sharp intake of breath ended his contemplations.  
"What - " he began to ask, but then he saw - ITI!!  
"That's a - " Cecil stuttered, pointing ahead.  
A small figure stood in the path in front of them. Short, stocky, horns growing out of its head -   
"A m . . . . " Kain felt the breath stolen from him.  
"A - "  
"A - "  
And the word came to both of the young boys at the same moment.  
"It's a monster!!!!!"  
Reacting of one mind, they turned tail to bolt back to the City, back to the safety of the City Walls, but the road was instantly blocked by three more of the hideous creatures.  
Monsters - there weren't supposed to be any monsters! Not anywhere near the City! Not even this far out -   
Turning back the way they'd been heading, they saw that the first had been joined by two more.  
They were surrounded.  
"Cecil - "  
"Kain - "  
Frantic, they looked at each other, then back at the monsters.  
The six of them closed in, muttering something to one another in monster language.  
Scared out of their ten-year-old minds, the two boys stood still and shook, frozen.  
"Mrrrghghgh - uhhh - mrghhhh," one of them snapped, coming up close to Cecil and grabbing his arm, trying to tug him off somewhere.  
"Yeach!!" Cecil exclaimed, disgusted by the touch, reacting instantly and kicking the monster in the shin. "Run!" he yelled, bolting off the road and into the woods.  
Kain moved to follow, but instantly, five of the six jumped on him, pinning him down to the ground.  
"Argh!" he mumbled, hitting the ground with an oomph. "Cecil!"  
Cecil arrived back on the scene with a very large stick and whacked one of the monsters upside the head. Snarling, two of them jumped off Kain and charged after Cecil, who whooped loudly and took off running, them in hot pursuit.   
Relieved of some of the weight, Kain shoved off the others enough so that he could get to his feet. Quickly grabbing the stick Cecil had abandoned, he let his instincts take over and jabbed forward, pulled back, and realized with a sickening horror that he had just ran through the monster's head.  
"Woah," he murmured, feeling a little queasy.  
Another of the monsters jumped on him from behind, and he spun quickly, throwing it to the ground, and kicked it sharply in the head, rendering it senseless.  
Cecil arrived back at his side, the two monsters who'd been chasing him gone. Kain didn't ask what had happened to them - he didn't want to know at that moment.  
Two of them were still coming.  
"I don't like this!" Kain heard himself screaming.  
"Shut up! Just hit 'em!" Cecil snapped as one monster attacked each of them.  
Kain, still armed with his now quite bloody stick, closed his eyes as the monster ran at him and held it out in front of him. He heard and felt the impact as the monster impaled itself, and without opening his eyes, he turned and ran.  
  
When he was almost back to Baron, he stopped running and sat at the side of the road, trembling.  
Those were monsters! Everyone said that monsters were now so rare, and so few, that it was likely they might never come near civilization again! What could have made them so bold as to come so near the city and attack two people in the middle of broad daylight -   
Unless they were multiplying. Unless suddenly there were more and more of them, and everywhere you turned, there'd be a monster jumping up and out of the bushes to strangle you in your sleep -   
He shook himself out of his reverie. There had to be an explanation. At least neither of them had been hurt -   
A pang ran through him.   
Where was Cecil?  
He'd just left him back there -   
As if on cue, Cecil arrived on the scene, running up the road so silently Kain hadn't heard him coming. He slid to a halt and dropped down to sit beside him.  
"Those were monsters!" he exclaimed, unknowingly echoing Kain's earlier thoughts.  
"I know!" Kain agreed, nodding nervously. "What do we do now?"  
Cecil blinked at him like it should be obvious.  
"We go tell everyone!"  
"But - what if they don't believe us?"  
Wincing subtly, Cecil gestured to his hands, in which Kain saw he still clutched to that stick - that stupid stick, now covered in deep green blood.   
He looked at it, and felt like he was going to be sick.  
Cecil grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.  
"C'mon," he urged. "It was them or us . . . "  
But Kain could tell that Cecil was just as disturbed by the encounter as he was.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Sabotage?)  
  
The frame was nearly completed.  
Cid looked up at the structure with delight. It looked almost like a normal boat . . . but he knew there was so much more to it than that . . . this Airship was the machine that would end the wars and save the Kingdom. Over the past year, he'd grown certain of it.  
KluYa came up beside him, and Cid could instantly tell something was wrong.  
"What is it?" he demanded without a greeting.  
KluYa shrugged with a worried expression.  
"The King is growing concerned. He says construction is going too slow."  
Cid snorted.  
"That's just his wallet talking . . . he knows what the Airship'll mean when it's completed."  
"If it gets completed." That said, the tall, purple-haired man turned to leave.  
Cid felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.  
"Woah, hold it, KluYa!" he stuttered, startled. "What do you mean?"  
Shaking his head, KluYa replied, "Many rumors of sabotage are circulating. I get the feeling that even if it reached completion . . . our Airship's never going to reach the sky."  
There was something in his voice, a dead certainty, which struck a deep note of fear within Cid.   
"Well . . . we'll just have to make sure nothing's tampered with . . . " he heard himself saying, although even to him, the words sounded weak and not very reassuring. "Look," he then said in a frustrated voice, "what can we do, then? Who's going to do it? I mean, where did you hear it? Who do they think is going to destroy it?"  
KluYa turned a probing gaze on his young friend.  
"Me."  
Cid felt jolted. He stared at him, openmouthed.  
"Goodnight, Cid."  
And he walked away.  
Cid somehow got the impression that KluYa found the whole thing extremely amusing.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Another Lunar Encounter)  
  
Okay, Cecil thought to himself, staring out his window into the midnight sky. How many times have I been through this?  
The full moons shone brightly in eclipse of one another, as if inviting him out into the openness of the forest at night.  
He closed his eyes and considered going to bed. After all, he had classes the next day . . .  
But even through his closed eyes, he could feel the strange sensation gripping at him, and knew that it wasn't worth the effort to try and resist it.  
Opening his eyes and pushing himself to his feet, he silently strode to the door and, after taking only a quick glance behind him, opened it and stepped out.  
He looked up into the sky at the eclipsed moons.  
"Why do you keep doing this to me?!" he yelled up at the sky.  
A tingle ran up his spine, and his senses left him, letting him fall unconscious to the ground.  
The door opened again, and Dad hobbled out, supporting himself on the cane he'd recently begun to use to get around.  
He looked at the sky, and he looked at the limp form on the ground.  
"Happy birthday, Cecil," he murmured.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Fever)  
  
What he'd been dreaming about, he'd never remember. What he would always remember was Veronica grabbing him by the hair and dragging him out of bed.  
"Get up," she hissed in a low voice.  
Startled, groggy, and cranky, he naturally began to protest, but she firmly clamped a hand over his mouth.  
"Get up," she hissed again. "Go get the Healer. Go get Marion."  
"What?!" he hissed back, catching the urgency in her voice.  
"Hurry!" she snapped. "Get her, and bring her back here! Now!"  
Kain, much as he hated listening to his older half-sibling, knew when to follow orders. Quickly tossing on some clothes and shoes, he ran out into the deserted streets, still not yet awake with people although dawn would soon approach.  
Marion would be in the Castle. That's where she worked - that's where she held her classes for the new White Mages.  
A burst of adrenaline filled him, and he almost flew to the Castle Gates.  
The Guard, apparently quite astonished by his arrival, grabbed him up as he tried to charge right through the door.  
"Easy, there," he admonished, recognizing him. "Kain. What's your rush?"  
"Veronica," he rasped, out of breath, "Veronica told me to get Marion. Quick."  
The Guard threw a look to his partner and nodded.  
"I'll get her. You," and he turned back to Kain, "go home, tell them we're on our way." Then, as an afterthought, "I'll get your father, too."  
Kain nodded and ran as fast as he could back to his house, still in the dark about the problem.  
"What are you doing here?!" Veronica snapped as he barged in the door. "Where's Marion?!"  
"She's coming," he gasped between ragged breaths. "The Guard's bringing her. What's the matter? What's going on?"  
Veronica grabbed him by the shoulders and jammed him down in a chair.  
"You don't need to see," she warned him in a low voice that sent chills through him. But as he opened his mouth to inquire further, an almost inhuman shriek filled the air, and Veronica flew from his presence to Momma's room.  
"Stay there!!" she yelled at him.  
He didn't listen, naturally, and followed on her heels.  
The sight that greeted him would remain etched in his memory forever  
"I DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS FOR A LIVING YOU KNOW!!!!!!" his mother bellowed, deliriously threatening him with a hairbrush. She then forgot him and ran in circles around the room, yelling insanity. Kain could sense the feverish crazy disease reeking from the room.  
"Kain, get out of here!!" Veronica shouted, her face scared but her voice stern.  
Kain couldn't move.  
And Momma shouted again.  
"KluYa!!!!!!! You dirty nut, get out of my head!!!!! No one invited you, darn it!!!!!!"  
He took a step back.  
"Me?"  
"No, not you!! CeCil!!!"  
He heard the door open and close, and then Daddy rushed past him, not acknowledging his presence as he remained there, frozen.  
"Julia - "  
Momma made no sign of recognition, but continued on raving, thrashing, screaming (something involving lunar can openers).  
Someone pushed him out the door. He looked up. It was Marion, he recognized her by the white tunic and silver belt she always wore.  
"You too, Veronica," she ordered in a calm, cool voice. "Out."  
Veronica, shaking, joined Kain outside the room, and the door closed on them.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Twilight)  
  
"Today's the day."  
Cid glanced at his father, trying to chew his breakfast, but unable to swallow. His mouth was too dry with anticipation. Gulping down whatever the stuff in the pitcher was - he never noticed what it happened to be - he managed to get down his mouthful.  
"Brilliant," he acknowledged his father, grinning.  
In a matter of hours, the engine would be installed in the Airship. Then, for the first time in thousands of years, mankind would again soar through the skies, higher, even, than the birds and flying monsters . . .   
Or course, monsters were rare now. No one in his lifetime had ever set eyes on an aerial monster, much less charted how high one could fly. But for the sake of dramatization . . .   
"You talked to KluYa lately?" his father inquired of him.  
He shook his head.  
"Not lately, no."  
"Nor I. But I thought he would've kept you informed . . . he thinks a lot of you, Cid."  
Cid raised his eyebrows.  
"Why, I'm the teenage engineering prodigy of legend!" he proclaimed, raising his juice glass. "Or so I've been told."  
His father snorted.  
"Yeah, I can see you doing great things, Cid. Just don't let it go to your head."  
Cid grinned and finished his muffin.  
  
"Is everything all right?" KluYa inquired upon his arrival that morning at the construction site for the Airship. "Nothing out of place?"  
"Relax, KluYa!" one of the engineers assured him. "Nothing's deteriorated overnight while you weren't watching . . . "  
KluYa didn't grace him with a reply. Instead, he turned to Cid.  
"Well?"  
Cid shrugged, unsure what he was being asked.  
"Everything seems okay."  
Looking over at the structure with a worried frown, KluYa murmured something to himself.  
Remembering his concern from a year ago, Cid looked over at him questioningly.  
"Listen, KluYa, if you've heard anything about a sabotage or the like - "  
He shook his head.  
"No. I just have a . . . a very bad feeling." He slammed his fists into his sides. "I'm worried for my children, Cid. If anything goes wrong here today . . . I can't say what will happen. None of you realize quite how important any of this is . . . "  
Confused, Cid was silent, waiting for him to continue. KluYa didn't have any children.  
KluYa closed his eyes.  
"I may as well say it, Cid . . . everyone else already thinks I'm crazy, you may as well, too."  
"You're not crazy," Cid vehemently assured him. "People are just - "  
"They have good reason to think that. No, I'm not crazy. I am, however, on a very important mission, which I feel I will not be able to complete."  
Now Cid was really confused. Not that this was an unusual thing.  
"There is an evil in this world - it arrived shortly before I did, it was my mission to stop it. But I fear . . . and if this is the case, then my children must complete this task. They're the only ones of the correct blood . . . and it will be hard enough . . . "  
"It arrived . . . in this world?" Cid repeated, held by that statement. "And you . . . KluYa, what are you saying, exactly? Don't talk to me in riddles. And in English would be nice."  
"It must be stopped," KluYa told him in a somber manner. "No matter the cost. Or it will destroy humanity."  
Cid frowned and was about to question him further, but was cut off by his father's voice.  
Turning, he saw the engine raised and ready to be installed in the Airship. All feeling of frustration and confusion left him as he watched, eagerly, for the moment to proceed. Beside him, he could feel KluYa tense up.  
Slowly, the engine was lowered into the Airship, Twilight. Everyone was silent as connections were made, and finally, the propellers were started.  
It worked . . .  
All the anxiety he'd felt melted away with the realization.  
It worked.  
"It works!!" he yelled, and was instantly echoed by the shouts of the people of Baron as it slowly lifted from the ground -   
A strange light flashed through the air, and he heard a short cry of alarm beside him.  
"KluYa - "  
"GET DOWN!!!"  
And the world exploded along with the Twilight.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Purple Hair)  
  
Cecil stared into his mirror, suddenly transfixed. In all of his twelve years . . . it had never struck him as odd before. Now, though, he stared rapt at his reflection, frozen with shock.  
Dad hobbled into the room.  
"What's the matter?" he asked in his gritty voice.  
Blinking and tearing himself away from his reflection, he turned to regard his father. Over the past years, their relationship had changed so much . . . ever since he'd begun to walk again, he'd been so much more . . . agreeable . . . than he'd ever been. Cecil still felt almost uncomfortable in the knowledge that he no longer had to be afraid in his own home . . . it was strange, and scary in its own way.  
"Dad," he began in a mystified voice, "why is my hair purple?"  
Dad squinted at it.  
"Hm. Well, so it is." He shrugged. "Really, I'm not the one to be telling you."  
"Mother didn't have purple hair. You don't have purple hair. Why do I? No one else I know has purple hair! Why is it that I'm so different?"  
"Cecil," he said in a firm voice, "you'd have to ask your mother. And she's not here."  
Blinking, Cecil tried to make sense of that. Of course his mother wasn't here! She'd died when he was three . . . he remembered her face clearly, but she'd been dead for nine years!  
"Why?" he asked. "Why would she know when you don't? You're my father, after all."  
"You'd have to ask your mother," he repeated, and hobbled out of the room."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Vengeance is Sworn)  
  
"Kain, go get me my pencils."  
Kain remained sitting at the table, his eyes locked firmly on his textbook.  
Veronica looked up from her own studies.  
"Kain, go and get me my pencils."  
He looked up and glared at her from across the table.  
"You have two feet," he reminded her in a low tone.  
He could see the anger jump into her eyes, but he cut her off before she could retort.  
"Everyday, Veronica, everyday it's been the same thing - anytime you need or want something, you always make me do it. Why? Why aren't you willing to get up off your butt and for once in your life do something for yourself!" His voice rose and he'd gotten to his feet without realizing it. "You used to rely on Momma to do everything for you - now that she can't you rely on me to do everything! I can't, Veronica! I don't care if it's just getting your pencils for you - you have to get your nose out of your books and live your own life!"  
She jumped to her feet, towering over him by four inches, her long, black, almost blue hair flying out behind her, as she glared at him, two pairs of matching, deep red eyes.  
"I am living my own life, Kain," she hissed in a low tone, in that admonishing him for speaking up so loudly. "You don't realize all that I do - you don't know what it's like to stay here all day while you can still go on to class out with other people - "  
"No one's making you stay here!" he objected. "No one told you to drop out of school - "  
"Don't you get it you stupid little moron?! I have to! Someone has to, and you couldn't!"  
"Who says I couldn't?! I could handle - "  
"You wouldn't know where to start! It's all a matter of place, Kain, don't you see that?! The girl stays at home and keeps things together, while the guy gets to go learn a trade - and whether you like it or not, I am the woman of this house, and as long as you live here, you will listen and do what I tell you to do!!"  
"No," he snapped in a low tone. "I'm gonna get away from you - and go where I won't have to listen to anyone anymore!"  
"What, you still want to join the King's Guard? You still take orders, Kain, you take them from the King! You just don't know when to listen! You don't know how to follow orders, Brother, and that's why you'll never make it!"  
"No, I'm not joining the King's Guard!" he snapped in a fiery retort, although up until that moment, it had been his plan. But he had to beat her - he couldn't let her win the argument - "I'm gonna be a Dragoon! Then I won't have to listen to anything except my own heart, and if it tells me not to get your pencils, then I won't!"  
"You?!" Veronica burst into laughter. "You'd never make it! It takes more than the ability to pound people to be a Dragoon, Kain!"  
"And girls can't be Engineers, Veronica!"  
She recoiled from that statement, and Kain knew he had her. Before he could move in for the kill, though, a low, smooth voice cut him off.  
"Goodness, are you two fighting again . . . "  
Veronica panicked, Kain could tell by her expression.  
"No, we're fine, Momma," she quickly reassured the woman who slowly entered the room.   
Kain instantly jumped to his feet and took her arm, guiding her to a chair to sit in.  
She sat, squeezing his arm in thanks, blinking her faded red eyes.  
"I wish you two wouldn't . . . " she continued. "You know things are hard enough as it is . . . "  
Veronica glared at him, pinning him with the blame, and although rage boiled up in him, he held it back, returning the glare, but saying nothing.  
"And I also wish you would stop glaring at each other like that."  
They both turned to her in surprise.  
"Momma . . . how can you - "  
"You don't have to be able to see to feel the heat of it," she told him, reaching over and patting his hand. "I may be blind, but I'm not stupid."  
Kain ducked his head.  
"No, of course not."  
"Tell me, Kain, how's Cecil? He hasn't been around in quite some time . . . "  
"Oh, he's fine," Kain absently replied. "Just has a lot to do at home . . . getting ready for Winter and all. He'll be around when he gets bored."  
Veronica snorted.  
"He always does."  
"Now, Veronica, be kind," her mother admonished. "Cecil has quite a fate in store, I feel, and we'd best help him as we can."  
Kain frowned.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I - "  
The door swung open, as it always seemed to do whenever someone was about to explain something important.  
Jordan, the Captain of the Guard, entered the house, looking distraught.  
"Captain - " Veronica began, rising.  
"Stay seated, m'lady," he sternly told her. "It's best that way."  
"How fared the battle, Captain?" Momma inquired in a solemn voice. In retrospect, Kain would feel that it almost seemed that she was expecting the news -   
"A terrible defeat, Ma'am," he replied, bowing his head. "I'm afraid Abraham . . . "  
Veronica squeaked something as realization hit her and gawked at the Captain, wide-eyed.  
Momma nodded slowly, again and again, and was silent, still nodding.  
Jordan looked helpless, standing there, not sure what to say -   
Kain just frowned. No way. Daddy? There had to be some mistake . . .  
"There's no mistake, Kain," Momma whispered to him.  
He looked at her, looked at Veronica, looked at Jordan . . .   
And bolted.  
Right out the door, right smack into Cecil.  
"Ow!" he yelled, reeling back, startled by the impact.  
Cecil reached forward and steadied him.  
"I just heard, Kain. Oh my gosh, are you - "  
"You just heard? Cecil, I just heard! You must've heard before I did . . . everyone else knows about this before I even do . . . it's not fair! It's just not fair!!!"  
Emotions churned through him like a typhoon, and he was overwhelmed.   
"This isn't right, Cecil! It just isn't right!!!"  
And he collapsed right there, right in the middle of the street, weeping.  
Jordan and Veronica came to the door and watched, conflicting emotions crossing both of their faces. Pedestrians silently left the scene, realizing that they were, as always, in the way.  
Cecil grabbed his arms.  
"Kain!" he called frantically. "Snap out of it - "  
"I will not snap out of it, you idiot!! I hate you! I hate you!!!!!!"  
Startled, unsure of what to say or do, Cecil stayed right where he was, gripping his arms, looking around for help.   
Kain didn't care. He'd barely known his father. Barely known his own father. He was always on duty for the King - never home, never around to help when Momma needed him, never there when Veronica needed him -   
But he himself had never felt that he'd needed him. He'd never felt that he'd needed anybody. He realized that now - he'd never let himself need anybody -   
And now it was too late.   
Too late.  
His father was dead.  
When his tears and energy were finally spent, he looked up, trembling with exhaustion, and found Cecil still there, watching him with frantic concern.  
"Sorry . . . " he stammered in the manner that people stammer after crying. "You're not an idiot, and I don't hate you, Cecil." He pushed himself to his feet, shrugging off his friend's assistance. "I'm okay."  
Cecil socked him in the forehead and knocked him right back down on the ground.  
Winded, Kain looked up in astonishment.  
Cecil knelt down beside him, livid.  
"Don't you go telling me you're okay!" he snapped. "You're not, and I know it, and if you go telling yourself that you are, you're gonna end up just like my Dad!" The fury in his voice almost drove Kain back to tears. "You won't care! You won't! You'll come home drunk every night, and not care! You'll hurt yourself bad, over something stupid, and you won't care! You'll sit around everyday, just not caring, until you wake up one day and realize that you've got nothing left to care about anymore, and you'll try to straighten up, but you won't have anyone left to straighten up to, because no one knows you, and know one really cares! No one'll care because of all the terrible things you'll have done to everyone, to your family, to your friends, and then you just sit around all day and regret everything, for the rest of your life!!" He stopped and took a deep breath. "Don't go telling me you're okay, Kain," he ordered. "Don't lie to me!!"  
Kain stared at him, his grief almost forgotten in a sudden fear of his friend.  
"Cecil . . . " he whispered, "you're freakin' me out, man."  
Cecil let his head drop in his lap for a moment and sighed. Then he looked back up and, standing, extended his hand to Kain.  
After staring at him for a moment longer, Kain accepted his aid and let Cecil pull him to his feet.  
"Sorry," Cecil murmured to him. "I'm really sorry, Kain, sorry that any of this happened . . . "  
"You have no reason to be sorry," Kain replied softly. "You didn't cause this. None of us did." He looked over the City Wall. "Eblan . . . "  
Cecil followed his gaze.  
"Eblan will have its day," he said quietly.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Evil Is Among Us)  
  
When he came to his senses, he didn't know where he was.  
Above him was the sky, but it wasn't blue, it was . . . tainted. Gray. Filled with smoke and debris particles . . .   
A face appeared above him.   
Golden hair. Deep red eyes.  
"Julia - ?" he sputtered, recognizing a childhood friend.  
"Easy, Cid," she consoled in a soothing voice. "Lie still . . . "  
He heard the sound of a Potion being cracked above him.  
"What - "  
"Just lie still."  
The memory hit him as the Potion took effect.  
"The Airship - " he began, sitting up.  
She pressed him back against the ground.  
"I told you to stay still!" she repeated in an almost crying voice.  
Noting her distress, he stayed still, but continued to question her.  
"What happened to the Airship?" he asked weakly.  
She sighed, her dark eyes sad.  
"A bolt of green lightning shot through the air; sure sign of magic, - and it exploded. Completely."  
Something nagged at the back of his mind, and he tried to catch the elusive thought.  
"Your father . . . " she began in a timid voice.  
SNAP! That was it! That's what had been lurking at the corner of his mind.  
"Where is he?" he asked her. "Was he hurt badly?"  
She closed her eyes.  
"He's dead, Cid. He was blown to pieces, along with forty-seven other people who were killed . . . "  
He felt nothing. He just lay there, feeling nothing.  
This isn't right. I should be grief-stricken - but I don't feel anything . . .  
"Is he all right?" he heard someone ask.  
Julia looked at someone he couldn't see.  
"I - I think so," she replied, looking down at him uncertainly.  
"I'm okay . . . I think . . . " Cid mumbled.  
KluYa knelt beside him, looking bruised and burned and not quite so amused any more.  
"Cid," he whispered, "evil is among us."  
Cid felt his eyes close. He felt KluYa's hand on his forehead -   
And suddenly, he was able to feel again. The numbness wore off.  
The Airship was destroyed. His father was dead. Forty-seven other people were also dead. And now -   
Now KluYa tells him evil is among us.  
"I could've told you that," he murmured, as grief and fatigue overtook him.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Dragoons?)  
  
"Cecil, I've got a problem," Kain informed his friend one day, as they left their classes.  
"I could've told you that," Cecil quickly replied with a grin, then sobered up. "What's up?"  
Kain squirmed.  
"Well . . . I kinda worked myself into a hole. See, I sorta worked myself into a hole saying that I was going to be . . . a Dragoon."  
Cecil stopped in his tracks and stared at him like he was a maniac.  
"You're kidding me, right?"  
Kain shrugged his helplessness.  
"No, I'm not! And to make matters worse, the more I think about it, the more I actually want to do it!"  
"But Dragoon's are - " Cecil quickly lowered his voice and looked around to make sure no one was listening, " - they're different! Strange!"  
"Yeah . . . I know . . . but . . . they're cool!"  
Cecil rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment, thinking. Then he brightened up.  
"So, do it! Be a Dragoon!"  
Kain felt abashed.  
"But . . . but I wouldn't know where to start!"  
Cecil grinned and opened his hands.  
"That's why I'll go with you!"  
Kain felt even more abashed.  
"Cecil . . . you can't be serious."  
"Why not? To be perfectly honest, Kain, I've not once given any thought to my future. I'd do just as well as a Dragoon, if I make it, than as an Accountant, or whatever."  
"An Accountant?" Kain laughed. "Now that, that is funny, Cecil."  
"Funnier than the both of us going out for Dragoon Training next fall?"  
Kain considered.  
"Yeah," he finally had to admit. "Even funnier than that." He grinned. "Okay, Dragoons it is!"  
"Woo-hoo!" Cecil exclaimed with an uncharacteristic burst of enthusiasm. "We're gonna kick butt, Kain!"  
Kain laughed.  
"That's not all we're kickin'! Baigan tried, and didn't make it!"  
"Yeah, isn't that why he's on the Royal Guard?"  
"Yep! I heard that he had the ability to be a Dragoon, but Sir Rorunar couldn't stand him, so he kicked him out!"  
"Woah! Cool!"  
And they laughed some more. Kain felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, now that he had some idea where he was going, but still couldn't help but wonder if it could ever be as simple as that.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(The Dragon)  
  
"And so," Cid sighed, dropping the folded paper on the table in front of KluYa, "they now want me to take my father's place as Head Engineer for the Kingdom."  
KluYa nodded.  
"Congratulations."  
Cid shook his head.  
"But I don't want it," he admitted. "I did before . . . but now . . . just now . . . "  
KluYa nodded again, understanding. He rose and lightly placed a hand on the young Engineer's shoulder.  
"This is perhaps a bad time . . . but it is still an honor. Don't let it pass - you'll not likely be offered again."  
Cid swallowed.  
"Everytime is a bad time."  
"No." KluYa shook his head, eyes closed. "The time - the time will come when you're very, very glad of this. I'm almost certain."  
Being familiar with the reliability of KluYa's predictions, Cid had to sigh once more and pick up the paper again.  
"All right . . . I guess." He almost crumpled it up. "But . . . the King doesn't want any more mention of the Airship. No chance of rebuilding, or, or anything!"  
"Something will happen. You're young, Cid. A lot can happen in a lifetime."  
"That's sure!!" Cid's mother exclaimed, barging into the room. "Kinda like that dragon outside?"  
"What?" Cid exclaimed, frowning with astonishment.  
KluYa didn't ask. Rather, he took one quick look out the window, and swiftly exited the house without a word, only a brief roll of the eyes and a quick gnashing of the teeth.  
Cid took a look out the window, and almost choked.  
"That's a dragon!"  
"Didn't I say so? He's probably come to eat us all . . . "  
"Dang it, Ma, you just had to mention that!"  
He threw a quick look around the house and grabbed the first weapon he saw - his father's axe. Then he followed KluYa's lead.  
  
The streets had filled with men, armed with the intent to fight off this strange attack, but most now stood gaping at it in shock. Cid joined them.  
It was HUGE . . .  
The dragon looked over its shoulder and saw them, flexing its great silvery blue wings. Without a sound, it turned and faced them all.  
Then, quick as lighting, it darted forth and ate someone!!  
"YAAAAAH!!" Cid heard himself scream amidst similar shouts from the others.  
KluYa remained silent, as if he knew exactly what he was doing. As the dragon retracted, he jumped forward, crawling on top of the creature's head.  
The dragon didn't like that. But as it tried to remove him, he took a wild swing with a sword he seemed to produce from nowhere and sliced off the dragon's hand.  
It landed a few feet away from Cid.  
He thought he was going to be sick.  
Someone else (he recognized Michael, Julia's spouse) grabbed a hold of the dragon's tail as it floundered about in shock and pain, scrambling up to the monster's back. KluYa slid down its neck, and the two of them seemed to be trying to decide what to do about it now.  
The dragon, noticing that there were now two little people on top of it, angrily lashed out with its tail, swiping away a good portion of the would-be fighters.  
As Cid saw the tail coming towards him, he figured that he may as well do something rather than just stand there. So, in the instant he had, he hurled his axe at the dragon, and was promptly slammed into a wall, or something to that effect.  
He heard a scream. Forcing his eyes open through the shock of the impact, he saw, much to his own surprise, that his aim had taken the axe directly through one of the dragon's hearts - it was already beginning to stumble around with weakness.  
But dragons have two hearts. (Everyone knows that, duh . . . ) It wasn't a fatal wound.  
Michael drove his blade through the dragon's left back shoulder, forcing the creature to fall onto its side. KluYa dashed down to stab the dragon's other heart as he fended off its gnashing teeth. The poor dragon, one hand gone, one leg useless, one heart destroyed, was still fighting for its life.  
Leaving no time for dramatic effect, KluYa delivered the deciding blow quickly, and the dragon died almost instantly.  
Almost.  
Before it did, it managed to gobble down Michael, who was just a little too close to the dragon's mouth, and a little too confident.  
Cid pulled himself back to his feet, along with the others who had gotten caught in that tail swipe, and hurried to the side of the carcass to congratulate KluYa, but when they reached it, everyone froze.  
The dragon's mouth fell open.  
A woman stood inside.  
Holding two babies.  
Alexandria?  
KluYa stared at the image impassively as it vanished, leaving only a view of the Dragon's teeth and uvula.   
Cid heard him mumble something under his breath about a prophecy, and chose not to ask. He felt he wasn't ready to know what was running through KluYa's mind at that moment.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Blood)  
  
"Dragoon, huh."  
Cecil sat at the table, finishing his final lesson for the year.  
Forever, he realized. He wasn't coming back to school. He was going to go to training . . .  
"Yep," he replied absently to his father.  
Dad hummed a bit to himself.  
"How old are you now, boy?"  
"Fourteen, Dad."  
"Fourteen. You look a lot like your mother, Cecil . . . " and his voice trailed off to a faint whisper, "but you've got your father's eyes."  
Cecil dropped his pencil.  
"What?" The question was quick and formidable. "What did you say?"  
"Oh . . . it's a song."  
"Dad!"  
Dad bowed his head.  
"And hair. He's so visible in you . . . "  
Cecil jumped to his feet.  
"I - I don't get this, Dad. What're you saying?"  
He shook his head.  
"Didn't you ever wonder, Cecil?" he asked in a dazed voice. "Didn't you ever wonder? You asked about the hair once . . . I thought you were catching on . . . now I realize that you never would, and I don't feel right about it."  
Cecil felt cold inside.  
"I still don't get this, Dad."  
"Cecil, I'm not your Dad. I married your mother after he died. There's no blood between us."  
Shocked, Cecil fell back into his chair.  
"Euh . . . how?"  
It was the only question that could come to his mind.  
Dad leaned back in his rocking chair.  
"Your mother . . . she was so young. Didn't deserve to be widowed. But told me right up that she'd known it was going to happen. Your father was a strange man, but somehow, she understood him. Believed in what he said." He shook his head. "They were really in love. When he died, and we got married, she told me that there was a special fate in store for her children, and that it now fell entirely to you. But she couldn't tell me what it was." He shook his head again and was silent.  
Cecil felt weak.  
"This fate . . . was it good? Or . . . "  
Dad just shook his head again.  
"I can't tell you, Cecil, but I can tell you this." And he looked up to lock eyes with the boy he had raised. "You bore all the Hell I put you through, and despite all of it, you turned out to be a good kid. I admire you for that, I know I wouldn't have done as well. And I believe that you can take whatever fate lies in store for you and turn it good, somehow. Just do what you know is right, like you always do."  
Cecil didn't reply. He stared at the page in front of him, seeing the words, but not reading them. It seemed like there should be so much to think about . . . but it somehow struck him that he didn't really care.  
Not about this fate which had been prophesied, nor about the man who was really his father.  
He had his Dad, who was his Dad. Even if no blood passed between them, he was still his Dad. And he was right, he'd put him through Hell, but he had the guts to admit it. Cecil forgave him for everything.  
"That's why I'm so strange, then?" he heard himself asking.   
"Who says you're strange, boy?"  
He shrugged.  
"Lots of people. They think I'm weird . . . I always thought it was just the purple hair . . . "  
Dad chortled.  
"Well, it does set you off a bit, boy. What about your pal in the City? He think you're strange?"  
"Kain? He shouldn't talk - he's pretty strange himself. We're just a couple of weirdoes."  
Cecil noted, but tactfully refrained from ever mentioning, that his father no longer referred to Kain and his family as "Raider Spawn". He was glad. Whatever questionable traits their bloodline may have had, it now seemed that his own was perhaps not much better.  
"That's good. Keep being weird. 'Cause you've got something that they don't, that they never know they missed."  
Cecil frowned.  
"What?"  
And Dad chortled again.  
"A sense of humor."  
  
"And then he went to sleep," Cecil finished, describing the tale to Kain and Momma.  
"So we're a couple of weirdoes, are we?" Kain grinned. "That's okay - I guess we are. You all right about all this, Cecil? It's a lot to absorb . . . "  
Cecil shrugged.  
"Actually, I am. It's weird, but I am."  
"I'm not going to have to, you know, sock you in the head and freak you out, or anything?"  
Remembering, it was all Cecil could do not to shiver.  
"Sure," he confirmed. "It's okay. Blood doesn't mean anything - it's what's in the heart that counts."  
Momma laughed softly.  
"Oh, Cecil, I doubt you remember some things . . . times when I don't think you felt you could ever forgive him."  
"I do," Cecil told her solemnly. "He's different now. Very different from the guy who used to hit me in the head."  
"Lucky for you, eh, Cecil?" Kain inquired lightly. "If you took too many more blows, we were worried you'd get brain damage!"  
"Cecil," Momma interjected in her quiet voice, "what was your mother's name?"  
He blinked.  
"Um . . . Mother?"  
She sighed.  
"Yes, of course."  
Cecil searched his memory.  
"I can't remember, honestly. I never knew her as anything else."  
"Think back, Cecil," Momma instructed. "Think back to before you met us, before your mother died, back when you lived with your mother and the man you then believed to be your father."  
Kain looked on, suddenly feeling nervous at her interrogation of his friend.  
"I can't remember," Cecil said again.  
"Does anything react when I say the name Alexandria?"  
He jumped to his feet.  
"That's it! That's her name! That's it!!!"  
And he sat back down.  
"Yeah, something reacted."  
"I thought as much . . . "  
Suddenly confused, Cecil turned his full attention to her.  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
"Hm? Oh . . . I knew your mother, Cecil. Never well, but I knew who she was . . . excuse me, boys, I think I'm going to go lie down."  
She got up and, moving from memory through the house she knew without seeing, went to her room.  
Cecil turned his attention to Kain, who shrugged.  
"Don't ask me, man."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(More Blood)  
  
Veronica gawked at Kain oddly when he absently filled her in later on what Cecil had said.  
"Don't look at me like that," he then snapped.  
She shook her head.  
"MOMMA!!!!" she yelled. "TELL MY BROTHER WHY I'M LOOKING AT HIM FUNNY!!!" she bellowed, pivoting and rushing from the room.  
Momma scurried in as she left and hissed something too quietly for Kain to hear to his demi-sibling and then, shaking her head, sat across the table from him.  
"I don't get it," Kain told her. "Um . . . what's this all about?"  
"I wish," Momma sighed, "that she would have kept her mouth shut. But maybe she's right. You're older now, anyway . . . "  
"Let me guess," Kain wryly suggested. "You're going to tell me that my father wasn't really my father."  
"How did you know?"  
Kain gawked.  
"I was kidding."  
"I wasn't. No, Kain, I'm afraid you never quite knew your father. He was killed before you were born."  
"Killed?"  
"Yes. In battle. He was a Dragoon."  
For a moment, Kain wasn't sure what to think of all this. Then he shook his head.  
"I don't believe this. It sounds like something out of a cheesy story written by a high-school student. What was his name?"  
"Phil."  
"Phil? You're telling me that on the same day Cecil finds out that his real father was really a purple-haired man on a mission, I find out that my real father was Philly the Dragon Knight? Are you sure you're not making this up?"  
Momma shook her head.  
And, not knowing what else to do, Kain burst out laughing.  
He figured also that he'd better not mention this to Cecil. It was just too coincidental. And too silly.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Good-Byes)  
  
"Eat!!" Cid's mother snapped, noting that he was ignoring his meal. "You don't eat enough, boy!"  
Cid frowned at her. During the past few years, since the Twilight's explosion, she'd begun working at the Castle as a Maid. He wasn't sure how they could handle her. He could barely handle her himself anymore.  
"I'm not hungry," he told her.  
"That's because you don't eat enough! You've gotta eat first! Then, over time, your appetite grows!"  
"Ma - "  
"Don't MA me, Cid! Eat up! We've got homemade jelly!"  
He sighed and gave in.  
"What flavor of jelly?"  
She grinned.  
"It's jelly flavored."  
He looked up at her and frowned again.  
"Ma, you're weird."  
"Must run in the family, m'boy."  
He snorted and got up to leave.  
"Where are you going?! You're not finished!!" she objected.  
"I need to talk to KluYa. He told me to come see him this morning - said it was important."  
"He doesn't eat enough either. Here, take him some rolls. Make sure those kids of his aren't malnourished."  
And so, piled high with breakfast pastries, Cid left to call on his friend one last time. (bum bum BAAAAAAM!)  
  
"I don't see why you have to leave," he finally objected in a weak voice after KluYa had informed him of his plans.  
KluYa sat across the table from him and grinned.  
"It was never my plan to stay in Baron indefinitely," he reminded him. "Matters call me elsewhere."  
"What matters?"  
"Oh . . . personal things."  
"Personal? I thought it was a great evil that threatened humanity."  
KluYa tensed.  
"I didn't think you'd have remembered that."  
"Never forgot." Cid absently chewed on a breakfast pastry. "So what is this great evil?"  
"I'm afraid I . . . really couldn't tell you," he sighed, a sorrowful expression. "It would bring more evil down on you than you can imagine. The less you know, the safer you'll be."  
"I'm not afraid of some stupid evil!"  
"You should be." A shiver ran through his body. "Cid, I've already involved one person more than I ever wanted to. And now our children may be left to carry on what I may not accomplish. I only hope that they can survive - that they can grow safely, and not be consumed. He knows about them . . . he knows about me . . . he's just waiting, I'm certain, to bend them to his will . . . "  
"Who?" Cid persisted.  
KluYa shook himself as if out of a daze.  
"I will not say the name in your presence," he firmly stated. "But, Cid, could I ask one favor of you before I leave?"  
"Anything," Cid replied sincerely.  
"If, by chance . . . something does happen to me before my mission is complete," and he paused, planning his words, "and you make contact with my children, could you somehow look out for them? Try and keep them on the correct path?"  
Cid nodded.  
"But don't tell them of what I have said. They may be able to complete our task with as little knowledge as possible - and the less knowledge, the less painful it will be for them."  
"You never told me their names," Cid pointed out. "If you go away, and I meet them sometime far in the future, how will I know them?"  
One of the toddlers toddled up to them then, cooing something.  
KluYa picked him up, an expression of amazing affection crossing his face.  
"Look at his face."  
Cid did so, and as the baby turned to face him, he saw his eyes, blazing a neon green fire, just like his father's.  
"You'll need no names to identify my kind," KluYa informed him. He set the child down on the ground. "Go on, CeCil, go back to Mother," he murmured. Then he turned his focus back to Cid.  
"We must leave soon."  
"Where are you going?"  
"I don't yet know. But I'll find out. Eventually." He stood and offered his hand. "Thank you, Cid. You've grown up before my very eyes . . . I'm sorry for any trouble I may have caused."  
And Cid could see that he had accepted the blame for the Airship accident, the explosion that had claimed his father's life. He'd been the one to interpret the charts, to actually allow them to build . . . a dream . . . that had backfired. Terribly.  
"You haven't caused any trouble," Cid gravely denied, taking his hand and giving it one last shake. "This evil of yours, though, has. If you must go . . . take care."  
KluYa nodded.  
"You too, Cid."  
And somehow, as Cid left after a tearful embrace, he knew that KluYa would never come back.  
  



	9. Masters' Poison: Advanced Stages

  
8)---------- Masters' Poison: Advanced Stages.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Dragoons!)  
  
Sir Rorunar paced back and forth between the seven rows of them. Seven rows of seven. The kids from the Kingdom who decided they wanted to be Dragoons, and had passed the physical requirements.  
In spite of himself, Cecil gulped self-consciously just as Sir Rorunar passed by in front of him - a tall man, with eerie, silvery deep-blue eyes that had a habit of staring right through you, and armor the color of burnt gold. That and an unshakable aura of . . . indifference?  
He'd been Head of the Order of Dragon Knights (Dragoons, Reformed) for as long as Cecil could remember, yet gave no impression of time passing having caused him any difficulty. As he was head of the department, he didn't oversee all of their training, of course, but always insisted on hand-picking each class, and was known to pop up at the worst times during drills with either a spontaneous inspection, cryptic words of wisdom spoken with a low voice which featured an almost hypnotic musical lilt, or simply a raised eyebrow and no comment.   
An odd thing, however (one of many, in fact), was that he did not carry a sword for purposes other than for training students such as Cecil hoped to become. Rather, his Lance was slung over his back, and hanging from his sword-belt was, rather than a blade, a musical instrument of some sort. Some said that he could enspell any living creature simply by playing a song.  
Not that he'd have need of an extra weapon. Record had it that he'd not once - not once been injured in battle. No one yet had managed to touch him. That, and -   
He stopped.  
"Nervous, young man?" Sir Rorunar inquired, raising an eyebrow. It was the first thing he'd said since arriving.  
Cecil blinked.  
"No?"  
Rorunar tapped his foot.  
"Now now."  
"Yes, Sir."  
"Scared out of your skull?"  
"Yes, Sir."  
"Heard the rumor that I'm descended from an Esper and have, at times, turned untidy students into blocks of ice?"  
Cecil blinked.  
"Euh . . . no, Sir, I hadn't heard that one."  
Rorunar scratched his head.  
"Really? You haven't?"  
"No, Sir."  
Rorunar turned away from him.  
"Have I missed something? Has my favorite rumor simply gone out of style, or is anyone else familiar with it?"  
Everyone other than Cecil raised his hand.  
"Well?" Rorunar inquired, turning back to him.  
Cecil shrugged.  
"I'm from out of town, Sir."  
"Ah. So tell me, which rumors have you heard? Because everyone, it seems, has heard at least one."  
Blinking heavily, Cecil searched his memory to figure out exactly why he was so tense.  
"Um, I heard that you'd been preserved in a block of ice for three thousand years since the time of the last Light Warriors, and that you . . . " he trailed off, noting the bemused expressions of the kids around him. "Or maybe not."  
"And that I control ancient magic from that time which is more powerful than anything we now know?" Rorunar suggested, raising his other eyebrow.  
"Erm . . . "  
He laughed, an eerie laugh that made Cecil's flesh crawl especially with that musical tingle ever-present. Someone had once put forth the theory that he was part elven, but Rorunar himself had disdainfully denied it.  
"I'll not deny either tale," he told the forty-nine of them. "If you don't believe that they may be true, then you'd better leave now. You'll believe stranger things than that before I'm through with you all." The faintest murmur ran through them, and Sir Rorunar grinned. "Now then," and he turned back to Cecil. "What's your name?"  
"Cecil."  
Rorunar frowned ever so slightly for a moment, then returned to a neutral expression.  
"Cecil. Hmm. How heroic. And tell me, Cecil, what made you want to be a Dragoon?"  
Cecil opened his mouth, but had to let it hang open for a moment when he realized he didn't have an answer. Caught by the oldest textbook question in the textbook! What could he say? That he was here mainly to support his best friend, who'd worked himself into a hole . . .   
"It seemed like a good idea at the time, Sir," he heard himself say. "At least, it beats being an Accountant."  
Sir Rorunar had looked poised to shoot back some strange reply, but cut himself off in his own fit of laughter.  
(During the course of the following years, everyone would learn of Rorunar's "disagreements" with the Accounting profession. As it was, though, no one quite knew why he found the statement quite so hilarious, and poor Cecil turned colors slightly.)  
Beside him, Cecil could hear Kain snicker faintly before he could stifle it.  
"You there!" Rorunar exclaimed, pouncing on Kain's mishap. "What about you? Why are you here?"  
Kain shrugged.  
"I'm with him!" he replied, gesturing to Cecil.  
Rorunar put a hand to his forehead.  
"Oh my," he sighed, shaking his head. "I can see this is going to be a fun group. A very fun group indeed."  
  
In the next hour or so (or however the heck long the thing took), everyone learned why Dragoons had, in recent years, come to be known as strange.  
"Where were you on the night of August 25th?!?!" Rorunar screeched in one guy's ear, making him jump a mile high.  
"Euh - euh - this year, Sir? Or last year? Or the year before?!"  
"Pick one!"  
"Euh - euh - what time?"  
"Pick a time!"  
"Euh - "  
"How about you?" he snapped at someone on the other end.  
"None of your business!!!" he replied, suddenly turning bright red at some memory.  
Rorunar golf-clapped.  
"Good answer. Lacking in subordination, but for now, rather nice. And what's your name?"  
It was the same story. When he asked for your name, you could consider yourself accepted.  
For the that particular round of questioning.  
"What's the square root of 29?!" he bellowed at one poor soul, after about twenty of them had been chopped out of eliminations.  
The kid just stared at him.  
"I have a positive thinking complex!!" he finally blurted.  
Rorunar seemed intrigued.  
"Really? Explain."  
"Well, see, I, uh, I can't think in terms of division or subtraction or . . . anything negative. Only positive! Get it? Uh, it runs in my family, Sir."  
"What was your name again?"  
"Jason."  
"Well, Jason, I've heard a lot of stories in my time, and that is definitely one of the oddest. You are to be congratulated."  
"Thank you, Sir."  
And people kept getting knocked out. Cecil was beginning to feel queasy when there were only ten of them left. He knew that every year, only seven were accepted.  
"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?!" he demanded of Aromuth, who had so blatantly refused to divulge his whereabouts for a certain August 25.  
"What do you mean? A Baronian or Toroian swallow?"  
"I don't know that!" Then Rorunar grinned again. "Actually I do. But it's none of your business. Kain!"  
"Sir!" he snapped back, stepping forward.  
It looked to Cecil like Kain was having the time of his life with all this.  
Rorunar looked at him quizzically.  
"Why are you here, really?"  
Kain opened his mouth to reply, but Rorunar went on.  
"And does this have anything to do with your father?"  
Quickly, Kain snapped his mouth shut. He knew Rorunar wanted a serious answer - they were down to the wire. No more swallows and positive thinking complexes and accountants.  
"Well, euh . . . " he failed under the Dragoon's searching gaze.  
"Interesting. Do tell."  
Kain glanced out each corner of his eyes.  
"Yes, in front of everyone. And don't worry - I happen to know for a fact that Aromuth over there is here because he simply wasn't fit to be a cat-herder like the rest of his family. I doubt your reasoning can be worse than failed cat-herder."  
Aromuth blinked, then meowed.  
"My father was a Dragoon." Cecil blinked. Kain's father had been a member of the Guard. "You knew that, didn't you?"  
Rorunar nodded, saying nothing.  
"I didn't. Not until recently. I never knew him. He died before I really came about, and my mother remarried again, but really made little mention of it to me. None, in fact. So he has no part in my being here. I'm here because of a mistake that I grew to like. The whole concept came about by accident. That's all." And Kain fixed Rorunar with an almost accusing glare.  
"Very nice." And Rorunar turned to Cecil. "Is he telling the truth, Cecil?"  
"Well . . . if he says so."  
"You'd take his word on that?"  
"I would, Sir."  
Kain glanced at him from the corner of his eye, knowing that Cecil had no idea what he'd been talking about.  
"One further question for you, Cecil."  
"Yes, Sir?"  
"Why is your hair purple?"  
Cecil had to step sideways to get his balance, he was so startled by the question.  
"M-my hair?"  
"Yes, Cecil, your hair. Why is it purple?"  
Cecil looked at Kain, dumbfounded, who just shrugged helplessly. So he turned back to Rorunar.  
"You'd have to ask my mother," he replied, softly. "And she's not here."  
Rorunar blinked and mumbled something in a foreign language.   
They were in.  
  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Children of KluYa)  
  
"The Airship . . . it's not going to be rebuilt, is it?"  
Cid shook his head and glanced at Julia.  
"I don't think so."  
She sighed. Cid wasn't sure what had brought her there that night, to the warehouse just outside the Kingdom where most of the planning and initial construction had been done. Now there were just some papers and a lot of wood . . .   
He wasn't sure what had brought him there that night, either.  
"But everything had seemed so perfect . . . "  
He nodded.  
"The King says no. He says that after what happened, it would be better for everyone if the whole thing was forgotten."  
"He's been like that . . . ever since he had that child . . . "  
Cid ground his teeth.  
"The Prince is a spoiled brat. But he won't endanger him, or so he thinks."  
Julia whirled to regard him sharply.  
"He knows well that unless the war is stopped sometime soon, there won't be much left of the Kingdom to preserve for that kid. We are losing, Cid!"  
He frowned.  
"No we're not! Everyone knows that we - "  
She shook her head adamantly.  
"Everyone's wrong, Cid! Hang out, sometime, around the Barracks. You'll hear what really goes on . . . we're losing, and we're losing badly, but the King doesn't want us to know. He wants us to believe everything's going well, because he's afraid of what the people would do if they knew how awful of a beating we were taking! Eblan is destroying us!"  
He shrugged.  
"It happens . . . we have good years, we have bad years. The point of the Airship was to finally end all these wars, and finally have peace, so we could all have normal lives!"  
She leaned against the wall.  
"Would any of us even know what to do with a normal life?"  
"Fight the evil which has entered the world."  
"KluYa told you that, didn't he?"  
"That's why he was here. But he's gone. And he's not coming back, ever. But his kids are around somewhere." He sighed. "One is named . . . it was weird, sounded like Cecil. CeCil, I think it was. That's all I know."  
"Did he - did he have eyes like KluYa?"  
Cid nodded.  
"Then - then we should know when we see him?"  
Frowning, he glared at her.  
"I thought you'd tagged him up as crazy along with the rest of the Kingdom. Why are you so concerned about the kid?"  
She floundered her hands helplessly.  
"Sometimes . . . I dream . . . and all I see is a glowing pair of green eyes. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's evil, sometimes it's just innocent, others it's dark, yet ignorant. I don't know what to think, except that somehow it connects with him. Somehow, I'm connected to either him or his children. And my own children - they're involved somehow as well. And I don't know what it means."  
Cid thought about that, wondering how on Earth Julia could be connected with Cecil/CeCil whatever or his brother.  
"KluYa asked me, before he left, to look after the kids if I ever met them - try and keep them on what he called the 'right path'."  
"I guess that's all we can do," she mused. "If these kids, or kid, or whatever, have to fight such a great evil, there's little we can do to help. We don't even know what it is."  
"Or maybe KluYa did manage to defeat it in time . . . but I guess we'll never know."  
"We'll find out," she stated primly. "We will. But I have a feeling we won't know either way until it's terribly, terribly, too late."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Child of KluYa)  
  
"So you made it in, huh."  
Kain glanced over his shoulder at Veronica.  
"I'd've thought you'd've figured that one out by now."  
"I did, actually. Just trying to make conversation."  
Kain decided to ignore her and glanced around his room. He was home for the weekend, but even after just one week away, it seemed almost alien to be back. It was amazing how quickly he'd gotten used to the dormitory . . . no older half-sisters meddling . . .   
Then he turned and looked at her. She was looking straight back.  
"What've you been doing?" he suddenly asked.  
A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.  
"I finally did it . . . "  
"You talked to Cid?!"  
"I talked to Cid."  
"And? What did he say?"  
She bit her bottom lip and sat on the corner of his bed.  
"He says . . . girls can't be Engineers . . . "  
"Aw, crud."  
"But then he said tradition sucks, and he'd give me a crack at it."  
"Really?! Congratulations . . . I guess."  
"Yeah . . . you too . . . I guess."  
They were silent for a time.  
"How's Momma doing here? Is she on her own now?"  
Veronica nodded.  
"But she insists there's nothing wrong - that she's moved around this house for so long, she'd be able to do it blindfolded . . . except that she's already blind."  
"Yeah, that sounds just like her."  
"So that's it - I'm happy, you're happy, she's happy - what is wrong with this picture?"  
He let his eyes meet hers.  
"It never lasts."  
She nodded.  
"It never does. Be ready . . . for anything."  
  
That night, when he knew Veronica was asleep in her room and had been almost certain Momma was asleep too, he reflected on his past week, and figured something terrible was pretty much bound to happen. It was the perfect setup, after all.   
But, he figured, may as well enjoy it while it lasts.  
Then he heard the faintest sound of motion outside. Getting up and peeking through his window, he saw someone below carefully push open the door and enter the house.  
Instantly, he jumped up and rushed from his room to the stairs to deal with the intruder, but stopped cold when he heard the voices downstairs.  
"I'm glad you could come."  
It was his mother's voice. What was going on?  
"First chance I got, Julia. Everything's going to heck lately - what can I do for you?"  
He heard a pause.  
"He's here."  
Whoever the intruder was, he bumped into something, presumably from surprise.  
"Here?!"  
"Oh, not here, exactly, not in this house, but - "  
"But you've seen him?"  
"More than that, Cid."  
He heard his mother's voice fail for a moment, and took the moment to try and figure out exactly what Cid was doing in their house in the middle of the night. This couldn't have anything to do with Veronica, could it? Who was this "he" they kept -   
"He's been coming to this house for eleven years. He befriended my son . . . "  
Kain caught his breath. Whatever was going on, it was about Cecil.  
"Why didn't you tell me?!"  
"I couldn't be sure - not until just recently. I was, almost, but had to be certain."  
"Yes . . . I guess that makes sense. Where is he now?"  
"At home, with his stepfather."  
"Stepfather?"  
"Yes."  
"Dang it. Then . . . "  
"Yes. He must not have completed his mission in time."  
"I knew it. Then he's . . . "  
"Apparently so. I'm sorry."  
"I knew it. Now it's up to the kid . . . which one?"  
"Cecil."  
"Hm. I wonder whatever happened to . . . "  
"I don't know. Cecil never mentioned such a person, I'm not sure he knows he even existed."  
"What's he doing?"  
"He is going to be a Dragoon."  
"Really." Cid sounded impressed. "I guess that's a good sign . . . "  
"He's a good child - I think that, whatever his mission is, he'll manage it."  
"Too bad we don't know what it is . . . "  
"I'm certain he doesn't have any idea. He doesn't know about any of it."  
"And I'd been told not to tell him. I promised I wouldn't."  
"I will not endanger him with this knowledge either."  
"Maybe I should say something to Rorunar - "  
"No. If he is to be able to face what is ahead, he must be strong, and he must learn the same way everyone else does, without any favor."  
"It wouldn't be fair to the others anyway, I guess."  
"No, it wouldn't. And I'm not sure how much trust I'd place in him anyway. They say he's descended from an Esper . . . " She paused again, and Kain had to force himself to breathe, hidden there at the top of the stairs. He didn't understand any of this, his whole life, he'd never understood some of the strange things she'd said to or asked Cecil, but thought nothing of it. Now it seemed that they both knew something, something important, and something quite possibly dangerous about his friend, and he couldn't think of a single thing he could do about it. "The King is dying."  
Then it was all Kain could do to keep from falling down the stairs.  
But Cid didn't seem surprised.  
"How did you know?"  
"I could feel it."  
"Julia, you're getting pretty weird."  
"I know. But I like it."  
"Marion never knew what she was missing . . . "  
"Magic is not my strong point, Cid. It never was. I'm just an Empath, and an untrained one at that. Little good I'd have ever been to her. I had other things to deal with."  
"Like the son of KluYa?"  
"Among others."  
"Oh yeah, your own kids, right?" And Kain thought he could hear a humorous edge to that.   
"Cid, you're weirder than I'll ever be."  
"Thanks. But you're right - the King's dying, and that stupid Prince . . . "  
Momma cut through in her ever-calm voice.  
"Things may turn out for the best, you know."  
"The best? Gosh only knows what that's gonna be!"  
"Just wait. You may be surprised."  
Kain heard no more after that, and it took him a few minutes to realize that he had gone. Quickly, in case his mother turned her "Empath" abilities to him, he scurried back to his room.  
He didn't know what to think.  
  
)----------- Cecil ----------(  
(Jumping)  
  
Jumping.  
("This is, as you all know, the trademark attack of the Dragon Knights," Rorunar explained, seeming quite eager to see how his new young charges fared with a new command. "It's highly powerful, highly dangerous, and yes, it looks quite spiffy. Sadly enough, it's also rather difficult. An ill-executed Jump can and often does result in painful and sometimes tragic ends. There's a lot of impact to be absorbed with a very little amount of foot. The foot extends just so far. You miss your timing by a split second and . . . well, you're severely wounded. Miss it by more than a split second, or land anywhere other than the balls of your feet, and consider yourself happily deceased. If you decide to grow reckless, for heaven's sake, do not get reckless with this!")  
This was something Cecil hadn't counted on.  
After about six months in training, Rorunar decided it was time to hit his Trainees with something a little more difficult than just using a Sword and Lance. So he sent the usual trainers on a donut run ("Make sure they're Bavarian cream-filled!!") and began them on the Jump command.  
It was . . . interesting.  
There was a trick to it, to getting to the altitude required to make a decent blow out of it, and they'd all been blood-sworn to secrecy on that, but even with this secret under his belt, Cecil felt himself muffing it up. Fortunately, they were well-supplied with extensively padded footwear.  
"Kain! Hit the plastic sheep!" Rorunar instructed, pointing out the intended target out in the field.  
"Right!" Kain enthusiastically conceded, Jumping up into the air.  
He missed, slightly, and instead slammed into a nearby tree.  
"I'm okay!" he called, trying to untangle himself from the branches.  
Rorunar shook his head.  
"Cecil, hit the plastic sheep."  
"Euh - couldn't I just charge up to it and run a sword through its head, Sir?"  
"No."  
And so Cecil gritted his teeth and Jumped up into the air.  
And landed head-first ten feet short of the target. By sheer luck, he was still alive. Or was it luck? The realization had dawned upon him that no one was ever severely injured when Rorunar was overseeing training. The moment he left, someone usually broke a leg. If the Dragoon noticed any scrutiny over the matter, however, he blandly ignored.  
"Work on that, Cecil," Rorunar absently told him. "Kain, do you need help?"  
"No, Sir!" he replied, still stuck in the tree.  
"The blood's going to all flow to your head, and your brains'll explode. Dreadful mess, you know. Stains up the place, and smells rather awkward as well. Then we have to put the pieces in a barrel and feed them to the prisoners in the dungeon, and what they don't eat gets ground up into hot dogs. Are you quite sure you don't need help? "  
"Um . . . can someone give me a hand here?"  
Jason and Aromuth, two of their peers, hurried to pull him down.  
Cecil rubbed his head.  
"So that's what hot dogs are really made of . . . "  
Rorunar glanced at him with bland interest.  
"So, Cecil, what else have you learned from this experience?" he asked in a droll tone.  
"Well, Sir, I learned why we wear helmets."  
Rorunar raised one eyebrow.  
"Is that why? I'd always wondered about that . . . "  
Cecil just looked at him.  
Just then, the heavy brass tone of the emergency bell rang forth from the City. Rorunar didn't spare a moment of surprise.  
"Everyone, back to the Castle!" he ordered curtly, taking off.  
Kain hauled Cecil to his feet as he rushed past.  
"Okay?" he asked.  
"Yeah, you?"  
"Peachy."  
"What's going on?"  
Kain frowned as he continued running along with the others.  
"I'm not sure . . . but I think maybe the King just died."  
Cecil stopped dead in his tracks.  
"What?!?!"  
"Keep running."  
So he did.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Sister-in-Law of KluYa)  
  
Cid felt his life growing more and more meaningless.  
After all, what was the point of being the Head Engineer for the Kingdom, if there was nothing to design or build?  
One war machine after another. That's all it was. One stupid deathtrap after another.  
So he did what anyone else would do. He went out and got conveniently drunk.  
Which worked for a while, until someone dumped an icy bucket of water over his head.  
He blinked and looked around, having no recollection of where he was or how he'd gotten there. So he said the only thing he could think of.  
"Huh?"  
A strange woman stood in front of him, lips pursed, fists at her hips.  
"Don't give me that, Cid," she snapped, shaking her long plait of light hair over her shoulder. "What happened to my sister?!"  
Cid frowned.  
"Huh?" he repeated, completely befuddled.  
"My sister, you stupid Engineer!"  
"Who the heck is your sister?!"  
"Like you don't know?! C'mon! I'm not stupid, you're the only one in the Kingdom who might know - "  
"Who the heck are you?!" he exclaimed, noting that from now on, if he ever felt like getting drunk, he'd better only do it in trusted company. "While I'm at it, where am I?"  
"Take a look around, you dolt!"  
So he did, his groggy senses finally coming back into place. And he realized where he was.  
"Okay, who are you, and why have you brought me to KluYa's house?"  
"Because you're going to tell me what happened to my sister!"  
"Who the heck is your - "  
"Are you playing me for a fool, or are you just ignorant?!"  
He glared at her.  
"I'm just ignorant."  
She shook her head.  
"Well," she informed him, "if I were as ignorant as you, I wouldn't let on."  
"Who are you?"  
"My name," she snapped, jabbing a thumb at herself, "is Matryad."  
"Matryad. Okay. Who's your sister?"  
"Alexandria."  
"Ah." The whole thing fell into place. "Ah," he repeated.  
"So?" she inquired sharply. "Where is my sister? Why haven't I heard from her in a year - "  
"I really wish I could tell you," he replied in an equally sharp voice, "but I can't. KluYa never told me where they were going. He didn't know himself."  
"You expect me to believe that?!"  
"Yes, actually."  
"Why? Why should I believe you?!"  
"Because it's true, why else?"  
She started pacing around the room, and he finally realized that he was sitting on the floor in a puddle of icy water. So he did what anyone else would do. He got up.  
"You are so getting my cleaning bill . . . " he muttered.  
"Have you no sense of occasion?!?!" she screeched. "This is not the time to be going on about wet pants - "  
"Are you kidding?! I go walking through the City like this, and do you know what people are going to think?!"  
She just gawked at him.  
"Really!" he emphasized. "I'd really like to know what happened to KluYa and your sister, and their kids, too, but the only thing I know for sure is that you just soaked me!"  
She continued gawking at him. Then she broke out laughing.  
Cid now gawked at her.  
Time for a shameless ploy!  
"Hm. Wanna go to dinner sometime?"  
"Sure," she laughed, shaking her head.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Deathknells)  
  
The seven of them stood at attention as Rorunar paced in front of them, absently humming a song that Kain knew he'd heard before, but couldn't quite place.  
Don't you just hate it when that happens?  
"Well, kids," Rorunar finally said, after fussing with a note that he couldn't quite get in tune, "this is it. Next time we meet, it's going to be at your initiation ceremony."  
He stopped in front of Cecil.  
"Cecil, your Jump sucks, quite frankly. But you're quite possibly the best fighter on the squad. Just try to stay on the ground."  
"Yes, Sir!" Cecil eagerly replied, seeming very relieved by the order.  
"Everyone else, you're all airheads."  
A chuckle ran through them - they'd all gotten used to Rorunar's bad sense of humor by now. It was never so much what he said that was funny, always just the way he said it.  
Ah, Rorunar's bad jokes. The true reason for becoming a Dragoon.  
"So go on and enjoy your last weekend of freedom." He paused for dramatic effect. "Ever."  
It felt as if someone had just rung a deathknell in Kain's brain.  
  
"Hovercraft."  
It was the only word he heard, anymore. It was Veronica's pet project - something she and Cid were both piling their brains into. He had no idea what they were talking about, so he just ignored them.  
"Well," he observed to Momma, "I guess being the first female Engineer in Baronian history isn't so rough after all."  
"She's having the time of her life," Momma replied. "Just like you, I believe."  
He had to grin. She still read him like an open book, which still amazed him, even though he knew how she did it.  
"Kain, I need to talk to you about Cecil."  
Again, a deathknell rang in his brain.   
"What about him?"  
Veronica was off in her room poring over some new diagram, so he wasn't concerned about her overhearing.  
"Cecil . . . has a destiny."  
"And this means . . . what?"  
Momma frowned to herself, and Kain could tell she didn't really want to get into this.  
"I think he's in danger. I know he has been his whole life. His father had been on a mission to defeat some great evil - he was supposed to have completed that mission."  
"But he didn't?"  
"No. I . . . Kain, do you remember when I had the fever?"  
Kain shivered. He'd never forget.  
"One vision kept playing through my mind through the whole thing. I hadn't been certain about Cecil's identity just yet - but in this vision, I saw his father. Just as I remembered him . . . always killing evil things when no one noticed. We'd had monster activity around here for far longer than anyone realized, because he'd always weeded it out. But that's beside the point. Then the bolt of lighting that shot through the air when the Twilight exploded flashed through my mind, and he disappeared, leaving Cecil instead, holding a sword and a large boot. So I knew - I knew that whatever this quest of his father's was, that it now fell to him."   
("I don't get the boot."  
"Why - he must follow in his father's footsteps.")  
She leaned forward. "He's in danger, Kain. You have to make sure he's protected - he has to be able to fight this, or it may mean the end of us all."  
Kain wasn't liking this, to put it mildly.  
"You mean that all these years, you knew he was in danger?"  
She nodded primly.  
"So I protected him as best as I could."  
"How? What did you do?"  
"Encouraged him to hang out with you."  
"Oh." He didn't know what she meant by that, but didn't feel like asking.  
"What's this danger?" he asked. It was the first question that entered his mind.  
"I don't know."  
"Well, how can he fight it?"  
"I don't know."  
"Do you know anything about it?"  
"No."  
"Well, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to tell him?"  
"Don't tell him anything."  
"What? But - "  
"It's in his best interest."  
"Best interest?! I can't know that something's out to get him and not tell him about it!!"  
"Tell him about what? A dream that your mother had?"  
"Oh, come on - "  
"I can't give you any advice, and you can't give any to Cecil. Just do your best to protect him. He is vital to the survival of this planet."  
Kain shook his head.  
"I don't get this. I don't get any of this."  
"Neither do I."  
He sighed and, frustrated, left the room.  
"Protect him, Kain!" she called after him. "If every other duty given to you falls through, you must protect him at all costs!"  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(The Serpent Road)  
  
The Earth shook, and the whole City rumbled for a moment.  
Cid, confused, dragged himself out of bed to figure out what was going on.  
Before he could do more than get dressed, though, a frantic knock came on his door.  
"What?!" he exclaimed with early morning grumpiness, opening it.  
"Sir," a nervous Page said, swallowing, "there's a Mysidian insisting on speaking with you."  
"A Mysidian? Can't he wait until the sun's up?"  
"No, Sir. They just now popped up out of the ground, and insist it's urgent."  
"Popped up out of the ground?"  
"Well, euh, yes. You see, the ground just collapsed in one corner of the city, and a crew of miners all popped out, and then this other guy jumps out of the hole and says he has an urgent message for you."  
"They dug their way here just to deliver a message? Why couldn't they just come in through the gate like everyone else?"  
"Euh - why don't you just come and talk to him?"  
Matryad appeared at Cid's elbow, yawning.  
"What's going on?"  
He shrugged.  
"I'll fill you in later." Then he shrugged. "Aw, heck. Come on."  
She grinned and followed him out the door.  
  
"You're the one called Cid?" the man asked, tilting his funny hat and looking at Cid quizzically.  
"I'm Cid," he replied. "This is my wife, Matryad."  
"Ah. Then this is for you." And he handed Cid a letter.  
Cid took it.  
"Um, while we're at it, would you mind telling me what's up with this hole in the ground?"  
"Read the letter."  
Frowning, but not yet awake enough to argue, Cid opened the letter and read.  
  
Dear Cid,  
  
I doubt we'll ever meet again, so I'm sending this letter to explain.  
Before arriving in Baron fifteen years ago, I spent some time here in Mysidia, working along similar lines to   
that which we dealt with in Baron. However, while the Airship turned out to be a tragedy of sorts, if you ever   
get this, then it can be established that the Serpent Road was, in fact, a success. Or will be, upon activation.  
Hopefully, no one will mind the sizeable hole in the City.   
It has spent over twenty years being constructed, and when fully completed, will allow almost   
instantaneous transportation between the two cities. It's not as convenient as flying, as it can only  
travel to places with a special tunnel dug between them, but such of its like may help your Kingdom in certain turmoils which are to come.  
The nice Engineer who delivered this message will explain the rest.  
I thank you for your help, your trust, and your friendship. Be careful.  
The children are safe.  
  
Sincerely,  
KluYa   
  
Cid frowned.   
"Be careful. The children are safe."  
He wasn't sure what to think of it.  
He handed the letter to Matryad, knowing she would want to see it, although it made no mention of Alexandria's well-being.  
"Okay," he said to the nice Engineer who had delivered the letter. "Start explaining."  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(For"war"ned)  
  
"Okay, boys!" Rorunar welcomed as his squadlings took their places in the lineup. "I'm sure you're all wondering what this is all about."  
No one replied, which was good, because you're not supposed to talk when at attention.  
"Really?" he murmured, bemused. "I would've thought that . . . oh, never mind." He was silent for a moment, and Cecil wondered what on Earth he was talking about.  
"Okay," Rorunar continued, after shaking his head in a bewildered manner. "Here's the deal. We're at war. We have been for almost a hundred years. Now, as you all know, we've had our good years, and our bad years. This, however, has been a very mediocre year for both sides."  
He flapped a hand in the distance.  
"Eblan's forces are just as shaky as our own." He paused for a moment in reflection on something. "This last year was particularly bloody . . . both sides lost more than we can afford. Some of you," and Cecil felt his eyes rest on him for a split moment before moving on, "are very new here. Unfortunately, you may be put out to battle before you're completely ready. The Ruling body sends apologies. You're all good fighters, though, or else you wouldn't be here." He sighed, looking a little forlorn. "So anyway, we're going to war tomorrow. Sleep well."  
And he pivoted on his left heel and left the room.  
For a moment, no one moved, startled.  
Then, slowly, they began to move around, and carry on in a normal fashion.  
Except for the new guys.  
The seven of them who had only been initiated for about a week.  
Cecil tossed a glance at Kain.  
Kain looked almost as nervous as Cecil felt.  
  
"Going to battle already?"  
Cecil shrugged, setting his helmet down on the table. They'd all been given the evening off, so he'd taken the opportunity to come home, not knowing when he'd next get a chance to do so.  
"Yep," he replied, trying not to sound queasy about the matter.  
Dad mumbled something under his breath.  
"You watch that Rorunar. They say he has the powers of a water elemental."  
Cecil frowned.  
"I hadn't heard that one."  
"It's an older rumor, I suppose. Doesn't have the zip of some of the newer ones . . . "  
Cecil grinned.  
"You know, for all the weird stuff everyone says about him, I think he's perfectly normal. I mean, he's a little weird, (okay, a lot weird), but he's still human."  
"And what if he wasn't?" Dad tapped his cane against the floor. "Would it make much difference to you if you suddenly discovered that someone you'd known and trusted turned out to be . . . not human?"  
The thought had never occurred to Cecil before, so he thought about it for a moment.  
"Well," he eventually replied, "I guess it would depend. I mean, if Sir Rorunar suddenly started turning everyone into ice just because he felt like it, I wouldn't like him much anymore, but if he just carried on the way he does now, I guess I wouldn't mind." He glanced over at him. "Why do you ask?"  
Dad shrugged.  
"Idle speculation. Ignore."  
  
The next morning, as everyone lined up to board the ship to head out to Eblanian Territory, Rorunar seemed to be in a particularly perky mood.  
"Hope none of you get seasick!" he warned with a smirk. "It's a long, long, long trip! And if you get sick and smell up the joint, you're gonna get tossed overboard, no joke! If you feel like ralphing, make sure you do it outside!"  
"He's serious," the man next to Cecil muttered to him. "My first trip, three guys got tossed over. Rorunar's serious about whatever he says . . . except for when he's kidding."  
Cecil, not knowing if he was prone to seasickness or not, swallowed nervously.  
"But don't worry," Rorunar continued with a wink and a bright grin. "The food's pretty good."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Death Gamble)  
  
Kain stood on the deck, staring up at the sky. Not a single star shone. Nor did the moons. In fact, it was cloudy.  
In fact, as he suddenly realized, it was raining.  
A bolt of lightning shot through the sky, but he didn't notice. He was . . . preoccupied, to say the least.  
"Hey, man," Cecil greeted, coming up beside him and looking up at the sky. "It's raining."  
"I noticed. Just now."  
Cecil raised an eyebrow, and Kain grinned slightly.  
"Um, maybe you should come inside. It wouldn't do to die of exposure before we even go through our first battle," Cecil suggested.  
Kain laughed lightly and shook his head.  
"Naw," he retorted. "Rain never hurt anybody."  
A flash of lighting struck the mountain that was now appearing on the horizon, and they could see the sparks fly as it connected with a large structure. It must have been a large structure of some sort, otherwise it wouldn't have burst into flames the way it did . . .   
Maybe rain never hurt anybody, but lightning did.  
"So that's where we're fighting," Kain mused to himself, forgetting Cecil's presence for a moment. "Crescent Mountain. Eblanian stronghold."  
"You gonna avenge your father?" Cecil asked, out of the blue.  
Kain raised his eyebrows at him.  
"I'm gonna try," he replied, attempting a confident aura.  
Cecil stared out over the churning water.  
"At least you can," he realized. "Goodness only knows whatever happened to my father. Both your real dad and the one who raised you were killed in this war. I really don't have any idea."  
"I thought you didn't really care about that," Kain objected, recalling his mother's strange dream, and her warning of Cecil's fate. All logic told him that the more involved Cecil grew with his father's fate, the more dangerous the whole situation was going to become.  
Cecil shrugged.  
"I don't know. I just wonder . . . I mean, he was my father, after all. I guess I'd like to know anyway, you know, how he died, what he was like . . . "  
"I can't help you," Kain replied, suddenly feeling like a traitor.   
Strategic subject change.  
"You know," he realized, looking over the water at the mountain in the distance, "we may not make it back?"  
Cecil glanced up at him sharply.  
" . . . ? . . . "  
"We're novice fighters. What're our chances out there?"  
Cecil seemed disturbed by that.  
"I guess I didn't let any of my worries go past whether or not Sir Rorunar would throw me overboard . . . "  
"You kidding? You've got the toughest stomach I know, Cecil."  
"For all the good it's going to do me out there." Cecil shuddered. "I really wish I'd managed to master that Jump better . . . "  
"Relax," Kain told him dismissively. "Just keep stabbing people through the head the way you do, and they won't bother to check your agility, I'm sure."  
Cecil looked at him like he was crazy.  
And so, Kain decided to place a bet.  
"First one who dies," he suggested with a grin, "has to pay the other 20 GP."  
"You're nuts!" Cecil snapped. "30!"  
"Done."  
Another crack of lighting split the sky with an angry green flash and hit the water near them, shooting odd sparks up into the air.  
"Youch!" Cecil exclaimed, watching. "Did you see that?!"  
At about that moment, a rather displaced sound reached them - an odd melody played lightly on a ceramic flute somewhere behind them. A ceramic flute was not what one expected to hear when watching green lightning on a warship.  
Turning, they realized for that first time that Rorunar had been sitting on the cabin roof, presumably for some time.  
Kain wondered just how long.  
"Quite a light show, don't you think?" he inquired, his tone so dark that Kain felt a chill run up his spine. "Evil has many faces in these days. You've just been witness to one of the more . . . sour ones."  
"What does it mean?" Cecil asked him. Apparently, the shadow over their Trainer's aura wasn't noticeable to Cecil, or else he was just ignoring it. Kain, however, found it very disturbing.  
Rorunar looked down, at last bothering to meet their eyes, the silver tinge in his own seeming brighter than usual. Kain got the feeling that whatever face this evil was going to take on, Rorunar would still be watching each and every move it made, and would be ready to counter at a moment's notice. And he reminded himself to never, never, never get on this guy's bad side.  
But his answer was light.  
"Dirty work afoot in Fair Eblana . . . you two, get below deck. Rest up. You fight tomorrow."  
Exchanging a worried expression, not content with this explanation but not about to question, they turned and obeyed.  
Kain, glancing back just as he was going down, watched as Rorunar lifted his Lance to the sky, and it began to glow a soft green which radiated over the entire ship.  
He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or not.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Ethics)  
  
"Right, boys!" Rorunar snapped as they prepared to leave the ship and charge the Eblanian fortress. What was left of it, anyway. "The fort's in disarray - got struck by lightning last night and a good bit of it burned to the ground. They lost a good many people and are not at their best." He jabbed a finger to the ship next to them, another of many in the attack fleet. "Watch out for them - that's the Fenix Battalion with the Royal Guard, and they don't like us. They don't usually fight on the front line with us - heck, the Guard usually doesn't come at all - but today, they are. Why, I don't know, I don't really care. Watch your step around them - they'll stoop to whatever means possible to get you discharged. We all know how they feel about Dragoons." A cruel laugh ran through the ranks. Dragoons didn't have to answer to the King, which disturbed the loyal Guard. It was a technicality that served as the basis for several damaging practical jokes from both sides, although theirs always seemed to come out on top. "So, good luck, although I don't believe in luck, and may you manage to Jump accurately!" His gaze again rested on Cecil, and a grin tugged at his features. "Unless Jumping's not your bag, in which case, may you accurately drive your sword or lance, be that as it may, through the enemy's head! Now," and he pointed his Lance, the Venus Gospel, over to the mountain and down the gangplank, "LET'S GO FRY OURSELVES SOME EBLANIAN BACON!!!!!!!!!!!"  
And before Cecil could even think of moving, he was rushed along with the force of the charge, moving with the others onto dry land, and engaging the enemy almost instantly.  
One thing you don't have when invading with an entire attack fleet is the element of surprise.  
The Lance not being his preferred weapon, he managed to get some breathing room away from the others and found himself head on against an Eblanian soldier - without stopping to think, he jabbed forward with his Sword, driving the blade directly through his opponent's head.  
For a moment, he was spellbound. Never before had he done that to a living, real, live, breathing, living, human being . . . he wasn't sure he liked it.  
Some instinct told him to turn, and as he did, he saw another bearing down on him, fury blazing from his every feature. Cecil didn't stop to think why, rather, he dealt with him the way he had the first.  
Stick to the drill, you stupid-head!  
He could argue ethics with himself later.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Crescent Mountain)  
  
After a few minutes of fighting which were utter chaos, there was a large rockslide in one corner of the battlefield which killed about 13 people and sent another small legion tumbling to the land below, where they continued battling to the death, Kain among them.  
As they fought on that rocky ground, slowly, everyone began to be killed off - one of the Guards, the two Knights, and another of the Guards. Finally, all that remained were three of the Eblanians, Kain, and -   
He spared a split second to glance at his ally.  
NO way! Not HIM????  
"Don't look at me, you idiot!!" Baigan snapped, taking down one of the Eblanians with one swipe of his Sword, decapitating him. "Fight!"  
Kain whirled quickly, catching his attacker in the stomach with his Lance. Not the best place to hit -   
He heard a yowl from Baigan, and turned to see him stagger back, and stumble down to the ground.   
He turned his attention back to his opponent, and found him also brought to the ground by the blow.  
Baigan hissed something rather profane and somehow defeated his own opponent.  
"Finish him!" he barked at Kain.  
But Kain, having a sudden revelation, suddenly felt very weak indeed.  
He looked at the man on the ground in front of him, who looked back up at him, shaking and grinding his teeth to keep from crying out at the pain of it -   
And the look in his eyes made Kain stop in his tracks.  
But . . . this guy's just a kid . . .   
He knelt down beside him.  
"How old are you?" he inquired in a low tone.  
The man just stared at him until Kain put his Lance to his neck and repeated the question.  
" . . . sixteen . . . "  
And Kain felt even weaker.  
He was sixteen. This guy . . . was just like him.  
The world suddenly whirled.  
What on Earth was going on?! He was here to avenge his father and make a point to his sister - how did he ever end up so trapped in this war that he was killing people his own age -   
What would happen if someone had killed him? What would they tell his mother? His sister? Half sister. What about all his friends? What about - what about reaching the legal drinking age?!?!  
Poor Kain: he was having his first case of Uncertainty.  
And he continued staring at the man in front of him. Unable to react in any way.  
"Dragoon!" Baigan's pompous voice shook him. "Finish him, now!"  
"I can't . . . " he whispered.  
"What?!"  
"I said," and Kain jumped to his feet, "I CAN'T!!!!"  
"WHY NOT?!?!"  
"BECAUSE THIS ISN'T RIGHT!!!!"  
Thus, the Dragoon came down with a sudden Morality Attack.  
Now, as we all know, Uncertainty complicated by a Morality Attack can be for either good or bad, but always ends up in an extreme shift from something to something else.  
Scratch that - it didn't make sense.  
To put it mildly - Kain had just screwed himself up real, real, real bad.  
Baigan narrowed his eyes.  
"If you don't kill him now, it could be considered treason," he reminded the Dragoon in a light, but evil tone.  
"Treason against what?!"  
"The King!"  
"The King who wants us to slaughter innocent people?!?!" Kain yelled. "The King is a FOOL!!!!!"  
Baigan, despite the wound in his hip, stumbled to his feet to look down on Kain.  
"You, as a Dragoon, can get away with not killing him," he informed Kain in a low tone, "but speaking against the King in such a manner is outside of your freedom." He threw a hard glance at the shivering form on the ground. "Report directly to the King upon return to Baron," he snarled at the young Dragoon. "You will pay for this . . . "  
And he stumbled away.  
Kain still stood, rooted.  
" . . . why?"  
Slowly, he turned back and knelt again beside the boy on the ground.  
"I can't . . . " he whispered to himself. "I can't do this . . . " Aloud, to his wounded peer, "Because . . . because, you know, I really don't like that guy."  
The boy looked confused.  
"But . . . you're supposed to all be so evil . . . "  
Kain blinked slowly.  
"So are you . . . " He shook himself. "You killed my father."  
"And you killed mine."  
Kain blinked, and suddenly found himself feeling rather calm. Ah, yes, everything made perfect sense, didn't it?  
This was so foolish, it was all so foolish . . .  
Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but could make no sound.  
Kain reacted too slowly, and managed to jump aside quickly enough to only dodge fatality - the blade of his unseen attacker driving through his back. In the next split second, he looked down and saw the blade sticking out of his chest - it had cut all the way through him -   
Dude - ?!  
He grabbed his Lance with both hands and drove it back over his head, felt it connect with flesh, felt the searing metallic ring inside of him as the blade was retracted.  
It hurt. A lot.  
Somehow, he got to his feet.  
His attacker kept a safe distance away, brandishing his bloody Sword with his left hand, his right now hanging limply at his side, an effect of Kain's blow.  
Kain couldn't stand straight, his own right hand clutching at the wound spasmodically. He brandished his Lance with his left hand, being left handed, and wondered if such was true for the other -   
Then the air wavered.  
He saw the astonished look on his opponent's face, turned, saw the naked fear on the face of the boy he had nearly killed, and felt a magical tingle envelope him.  
For an instant, there was darkness.  
And then, when he opened his eyes, he was standing in the City of Baron.  
  
People were running in all directions. White Mages and Healers were charging through the scattered ranks of fighters, screaming orders in all directions.  
Kain just stared. What had just happened?! How had . . .  
Rorunar bolted past him, skidded to a halt, and bolted back to his side.  
"Kid, find yourself a Healer!" he quickly snapped, turning to bolt off again.  
"I can't," Kain sputtered in a dejected tone. "I've been ordered to report to the King immediately upon my return to Baron . . . " he trailed off, unable to speak from the pain in his chest.  
Rorunar apparently forgot his intention to bolt off again. He stared at Kain for a brief moment, then took a firm hold of his left arm and edged (gently, with consideration for the large hole in his person) him in the direction of the Castle.  
"Then we'd better go then."  
"Sir . . . you don't have to get involved on my account . . . I think I committed treason."  
"All the more reason for me to be there," Rorunar replied in a somber tone, helping him along.  
  
Baigan, completely healed due to the prompt action of a local White Wizard, glared up at Kain as he entered the Throne Room.  
"Your Majesty," he said to the recently-crowned King, "this man has committed an act against you."  
"Do tell," the King replied in a bored tone.  
"He had one of the enemy at his mercy, but refused to carry out his duty."  
"He let him live?"  
"He let him live."  
The King leaned forward and smirked.  
"What do you have to say in your defense, Dragoon?" he inquired.  
"I . . . " Kain began in a faltering tone, " . . . couldn't kill . . . myself . . . "  
The King blinked and Baigan frowned.  
"He's allowed, Your Majesty," Rorunar intervened, glaring at the young King with stern apprehension, as if the answer made perfect sense to him, but he wasn't too keen on it. "In the code of the Dragoon, and the law stated by your great, great, great grandfather - "  
"He then blatantly spoke against you, Your Majesty," Baigan continued. "He said, if I remember correctly, that you are a fool."  
Kain could sense Rorunar wincing beside him.  
"A fool?!" The King suddenly seemed no longer entertained, but furious. "Why . . . no one would dare speak against me! Especially not some foolish young Dragoon - "  
"Sentence, Your Majesty?" Baigan prompted.  
"Kill him," the King stated with a wave of his hand.  
Castle Guards stepped forward hesitantly at the order - the same Guards Kain had known all his life, who had served with his father.  
Stepfather.  
"Your Majesty . . . " one of them spoke up in a tiny voice. "Couldn't you maybe . . . "  
"Disobeying me?!" the King bellowed. "Fine, you can get killed too!"  
"NO!" Kain denied, putting almost all the strength he had left in the cry. "Don't kill them because of me!"  
The Guard bowed his head.  
"Your Majesty." Rorunar stepped forward, as placatingly and excruciatingly calm as ever. Logic was his weapon. Cold logic. He could use it, or he could abuse it, and he could do both well. "Please take into consideration this young Dragoon's inexperience. The first time on a battlefield does strange things to a person . . . makes people react differently than one normally would. I'm sure Kain meant no disrespect - he was merely overwhelmed. And you know, Your Majesty," and he moved into a tone that was so excruciatingly placating that Kain almost pitied his two attackers, "you really can't afford to kill off one of your fighters. Do you have any idea how many people were lost today?"  
"That's not my concern," the King snapped.  
That one astonished Kain more than anything else he'd heard in this eventful day. The man ruling this Nation didn't even care that his own people were being slaughtered? This was the moron they were serving?  
"Oh, I think it is, Your Majesty," Rorunar replied softly, and Kain could sense the disapproval in his voice as well. "If your army falls, then someone else, probably Eblanian, will take this Kingdom, and you will likely be tortured and executed by their hands." He smirked slightly at Baigan. "You need all the troops you can get. Surely, you can let a case of jitters pass unpunished under these circumstances?"  
The King seemed disturbed by the implications of what would happen if his army fall, and looked as if he were about to give in, but Baigan stepped in and whispered something in his ear.  
After listening intently, the King nodded.  
"My counsel is to let you live," he informed Kain, who was now in almost too much agony to care about his fate, "on one condition."  
"What condition?" Rorunar inquired in a dangerous tone.  
"The condition that his freedom and privileges as a Dragoon are hereby lifted. As of now, he will have to ultimately follow my command, and answer to me above all others. No longer will he serve either you," and he glared triumphantly at Rorunar, who stared back with a gaze of condescension, "or his conscience, which is what caused him all this trouble in the first place. You won't miss it," he told Kain, who couldn't even make a move to nod.  
"But, Your Majesty - "  
"It's that, or his head, Sir Rorunar."  
The ruling Nut-head looked quite pleased with himself. What a dork.  
Rorunar looked down at Kain, who was all but unconscious beside him, dripping blood in a gory manner that one wouldn't want to discuss at the supper table.  
"All right," he muttered, seething something sour under his breath. "I submit. My authority is surrendered in this case."  
Baigan laughed.  
Ah - bad move. Rorunar flashed a look at him, one eye squinting slightly, head tilted very faintly at a dangerous angle. That Look said it all.  
"For harming my charges, I will see to it that you meet with much agony," would be a loose translation.  
Even Baigan ceased laughing when faced with one of Rorunar's Looks.  
  
Kain was barely conscious of moving out of the Castle and back into the Barracks. In fact, the next half hour or so would always remain a blank in his memory.   
The next thing he was aware of was being in a sitting position, his armor removed, the wound in his back and chest being bandaged up. He shook his head.  
"Relax." He identified the voice as Rorunar's. "You're a tough one to heal." And he heard the unmistakable sound of a Potion being cracked, and felt more of his senses return. "A Potion or even a regular spell wouldn't be able to heal that up entirely without giving it time to heal some naturally. You were just a smidgen from having several integral organs pierced, which wouldn't have been pleasant, I assure you."  
Kain didn't say anything. He felt as if he were imprisoned in a tiny room, which was constantly growing tinier and tinier every second.  
Rorunar gripped his shoulders.  
"Say something," he snapped.  
Kain looked up at him, not having the strength of body or will to summon up the proper respect for his superior. "Why? What more am I supposed to say?" He shuddered, the motion spreading a new wave of pain through him. "My stupid mouth has gotten me into more trouble today than . . . "  
Rorunar sighed, wincing as if he'd expected just that answer.  
"Listen, Kain," he said in a confidential and almost trusting tone (Rorunar had never trusted anyone), "I have to agree with you. The King is a fool. He's not fit to rule, and he's certainly not fit to pass judgment . . . he's really a good guy, you know. The people like him, for the most part. But he just has no common sense, none at all . . . " He sighed again. "Tell me. What happened out there?"  
Kain swallowed against the disgrace he felt. How was he ever going to explain this to his mother . . .   
He told the story, haltingly, to Sir Rorunar, who listened intently, nodding at intervals.  
"I don't think," he said when Kain had finished, "that you are at any fault. If anything . . . I guess I have to agree with you. You're just a kid, they were just kids . . . no offense to you or your class, but it's almost like murdering a nursery. Robbing the cradle. You're sixteen, I'm . . . well, let's not go there. There's not going to be anything left of either Kingdom if this keeps up . . . but Kain, whether or not you're really at fault, the sentence is passed, and it's permanent. Only the King himself can lift it now . . . and something tells me he won't."  
Kain sniffled, then sneezed suddenly, completely overwhelmed by all that had happened that day. And he suddenly felt very, very angry.  
"I refuse." He could hear the seething note in his voice. "I couldn't follow orders from that - "  
"Clam up," Rorunar told him, "or else you may get your head chopped off yet."  
Kain rolled his hands into fists.  
"Maybe that would be better!!!"  
"I seriously doubt that, Kain. Death may be intriguing, but the fact is, we have to keep fighting. Now, he said you follow his commands ultimately, but you're still under my jurisdiction. He can intervene if he wants, but I doubt he will, for the most part. He'll have other things on his mind - he may forget all about it."  
"Baigan won't."  
"Well, he may - "  
"He won't. I beat him up once in school."  
Rorunar frowned.  
"He wouldn't have been in your class - I was pounding his head in for being boring when you were still learning inverse functions of trigonometry. You beat up someone that much bigger than you?"  
"Yeah . . . it seemed like a good idea at the time."  
Slowly, Rorunar blinked.  
"It just goes to show - the stubborn impetuosity that I love so much to manifest in my soldiers comes at an early age. Did he go down easy?"  
"Oh no, Sir."  
Rorunar blinked again, grinning very faintly.   
"You know, Kain, I like you," he remarked. "You're a good kid - and you've got a sense of humor. That's something Baigan never had. He was way too persistent on meaningless things. The way I see it, you shouldn't offer your life on a battlefield unless you're willing to experience life for what it is first. He never did, but you have, and that's why all this is so hard on you. But we'll manage."  
He paused.  
"You owe His Majesty much, Kain, but still, you must never disgrace the Dragoons."  
"And what have I just done?"  
"Gotten on the King's bad side. Not really disgraced anyone, though. I don't think so, anyway."  
Kain just sighed.  
Rorunar grinned slightly more.  
"Kain, Kain, Kain. Lighten up."  
"Lighten up?!"  
"Yes! You know, no matter how strong a person is, someone with half the strength but twice the joy will almost always find the ability to overcome the stronger. Joy is the greatest source of strength known to us. And you could use some strength right about now."  
"Well, I don't feel much joy at the moment, in case you haven't noticed."  
"Why not? You're still alive, aren't you?"  
Kain suddenly frowned, thinking on that point.  
"What happened?" he asked. "I mean, how did we get out of there?"  
"Why," Rorunar replied lightly, "I used my abilities as a water elemental descended from an Esper who knows magic from another time to transport what remained of our forces back to Baron."  
And try as he might, Kain could not figure out if he was serious or not.  
A light knock came on the door.  
"Sir?" came a voice. "Are you - "  
The door pushed open and Cecil peeked in, only to stop in his tracks when he caught sight of Kain.  
Kain realized he must've been pretty shocked. After all, here he was, a bloody mess, bandaged up like a mummy . . .   
"I'm okay, Cecil," he assured him.  
Cecil just stared.  
Rorunar glanced back and forth between them a couple of times, and backed out of the conversation.  
"Cecil?" Kain asked, suddenly concerned.  
Cecil entered the room and stood in front of him.  
"Kain . . . "  
"I'm okay, I said!"  
"But . . . "  
"Cecil?"  
" . . . "  
"Cecil, what's wrong?"  
Cecil glanced down for a moment, then looked back up at him.  
"Kain, we got a message for you . . . no one knew where you were, so they left it with me . . . " He held forth a piece of paper.  
Kain took it, but couldn't look at it.  
"Cecil - what is it?!"  
" . . . "  
"Cecil - "  
"Just read it!!" Cecil squeaked out in a choking voice.  
Kain, alarmed at his behavior, unfolded the piece of paper he'd been handed and read it quickly, feeling a dread cold spread through him.  
"Oh my God . . . " he whispered. "No . . . "  
He looked up at Cecil, who already seemed on the brink of tears himself.  
"No," he stated.  
But Cecil nodded.  
"Yes. It's true . . . "  
Kain stared back at the paper.  
"No," he repeated to himself. "No."  
Rorunar could tell from the expressions on their faces exactly what had happened. He silently exited the room and left them alone.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(More Good-Byes)  
  
Cecil stood on one side of Kain, Veronica on the other. At first, on their way there, Cecil had worried that maybe he shouldn't be there with them like that - that maybe, since there was no real relation between him and Momma -   
But Kain had seemed overly distraught by the suggestion, and had dragged him to the funeral with a grip on his arm so tight it cut off the blood flow to his hand. Only when they'd arrived was he released, and he wasn't going to aggravate the situation by opening his mouth again.  
No one knew why she had died. According to Veronica, she'd just grabbed her stomach, screamed, and died a moment later, in fact, only a short while before they'd returned by some strange power.  
On her skin had appeared a slight deformation matching exactly that of a Lance scar.  
Cecil didn't know what to make of it. He didn't really care, either.   
I mean . . . Momma's dead!  
The memory returned to haunt him -   
  
"Why are you crying?"   
"Because my mother just died."  
"Then she's in heaven!"  
"Huh? What's that?"  
"My momma says, she says that when someone dies, they go to heaven! So that must be where your momma is!"   
  
Somehow, thought, it didn't seem like four-year-old logic was going to cut it. Not this time.   
  
"What's heaven?"   
"Oh, it's a real nice place! Everyone's happy there, and they can do whatever they want, and play all day if  
they feel like it, and no one's ever sad there!"  
"Really? And my mother's there?"  
"Well, was she nice?"  
"Yeah, she was nice."  
"Then she's in heaven!"  
"So she's happy?"  
"Course! I told you, no one's ever sad there!"  
The first boy thought for a long time.  
"Okay. Then I guess I should be happy too."  
  
Cecil looked at Kain. He looked at Veronica. He looked at the fresh grave in the ground.  
He thought of the battle they'd fought the day before. He thought of his own mother, of the father he'd never known, of all the thousands of fighters from this hundred years of war who's names could never all be recounted. He thought of the stupid King, reacting at Baigan's command. He thought of his Dad. He thought of Sir Rorunar.  
And something told him that Baron was not going to be happy for a very, very long time.  
The ceremony had ended, and the crowd slowly filtered away, murmuring condolences and good wishes.  
Veronica suddenly burst into tears, and someone - Cid, Cecil recognized - quickly tried to quiet her.  
Kain was staring off into space.  
And Cecil knew that he didn't want to know what he was thinking.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Rorunar)  
  
The Serpent Road, as KluYa had written, was a success - at least, they guessed so.  
It was a little . . . odd, though.  
It had been activated with no difficulty, and more importantly to many, no explosions. And no evil lighting.  
The strangeness began when it was first tested.  
Cid, Matryad, the team of Baronian Engineers, and over half of the Kingdom was waiting near the Baronian gateway to the passage, waiting for the Mysidian volunteer to come through - hopefully in one piece.  
A loud whirrring sound could be heard from below -   
And then he appeared, spinning for a moment at the opening of the gate.  
"It works . . . " he sputtered, "now excuse me . . . I think I'm going to be sick!"  
Motion sickness was not the only thing he should have been worried about, however, as everyone watching realized.  
For the Mysidian had not arrived alone.  
A tall man in deep golden Dragoon armor also appeared at the Serpent Gate, shivering so badly his teeth were chattering.  
"Y-yyy-y-eeeeee-e-aa-aaaa-hh!!" he exclaimed, startling the Mysidian in front of him so badly that the poor soul lost his lunch.  
"Yuck," the Dragoon pronounced, dodging the mess.  
Cid stepped forward to check out this strange man.  
"Who are you?" he inquired, arching an eyebrow.  
"I?" he replied. "My name is Sir Rorunar."  
Cid stared at him, confused, as did everyone else.  
"Oh," he responded to that. "Euh . . . how did you end up in the Serpent Road?"  
Rorunar looked behind him into the Serpent Tunnel, shuddering one last time as one coming from a deathly cold back into warmth.  
"Is that what that thing was? I'd wondered." He looked up into the bright sky. "Dang, it's hot here." He looked back at those assembled. "Would it be rude to inquire as to exactly where I am?"  
  
"Now, this is to be kept completely confidential," Cid warned Matryad.  
"So why are you telling me?"  
"Because I feel like it. Anyway, on this Sir Rorunar guy."  
"Oh, yes." She set down the pot she'd been carrying on the stove and turned to face him. "What did they find out about him?"  
"Well," Cid explained with a large degree of astonishment still, "it seems that he's from another time, approximately three thousand years ago."  
"No way."  
"Yep! See, this is why they don't want it getting out - no telling what people would think if they ever heard about any of this. Anyway, I guess he's back from before the Cataclysm!"  
"No way! Like, did he know the Light Warriors?"  
"Yep! And oo, it gets better. He says he's descended from an Esper."  
Matryad frowned quizzically.  
"No way."  
"Yep! I guess, many thousands of years ago, our favorite Ice Queen Shiva had an affair with a human and - !"  
"Son of Shiva?! No way!"  
"Yep! So he can apparently freeze people on sight . . . apparently nothing, I saw him do it . . . and he has all the powers of a water elemental."  
Matryad shivered. This was getting creepy.  
Cid couldn't help but grin at the expression on her face.  
"Not only all that, but he was studying a lot of very, very, very potent magic while he was then - things that were taboo in that time, and not even thought of here. This guy's pretty dangerous. So we were pretty relieved when he offered his services as a Dragoon to the King."  
Matryad frowned.  
"But how did he get here? Now? And what was he doing in the Serpent Road?"  
Cid snorted.  
"I guess he made his mum pretty upset about something - he wouldn't say what - and she froze him solid as punishment. He's been in suspension for the past few millennia, underground. I guess, we guess, when the Serpent Road was dug, it was near enough to where he was buried to drag him into the pull with its suction force, and shatter the ice block which held him. That's why he was shivering so badly when he came out."  
"No way!!"  
"Yep!"  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Recovering)  
  
" . . . I guess everyone's doing okay," Kain answered after a long wait.  
It was about a month after the tragic attack on Crescent Mountain. A month, and still, no one had fully recovered.   
While it had appeared that half of the Eblanian fortress had been destroyed and the troops in disarray, it had turned out that this had only been a ploy - to bring the Baronians on in an overly confident attack and take them by surprise, destroying them.  
It had worked all too well.  
Half the army had been obliterated. Many were still wounded too badly to be cured by magic or Elixirs. Some things were just beyond their ability to heal . . .  
Kain and Veronica still seemed to be in somewhat of a shock from what had greeted the army's unexplained return. Not that Cecil was handling it any better . . .   
But they had to go back. They had to go back to Sir Rorunar (who had let them both go off on leave for an undetermined time) and help defend the Kingdom, which was so weak, despite the numbness that still remained.  
Kain shook his head when he said this out loud.  
"I know . . . you're right . . . I'm just not sure how I'm gonna be able to go back there . . . "  
Cecil sighed. No one knew exactly what had happened between Kain and the King because he refused to go into any detail, but everyone knew about the sentence placed on him, and Cecil for one was certain that it must have been unjust, as were many others.  
"Believe me," he told his friend in an attempt to be comforting, "you made more friends than the King did that day. None of us hold it against you."  
"No?" Kain asked, cynically. "Funny. I do."  
Before Cecil could formulate a reply, the emergency bell sounded across the Kingdom.  
"No time to fight about this," Cecil hissed gently. "We've got to go."  
Kain nodded, and they hurried to see what had spawned the alarm.  
  
)---------- Kain -----------(  
(Attack on Baron)  
  
"We're under attack!!!" was the general scream in the streets.  
Sir Rorunar was little help in clearing up matters.  
"You two - don't hang around here!" he exclaimed, hurrying past them and out of the Barracks as they came in. "We're under attack!!"  
Kain somehow managed to push his preoccupying thoughts aside and concentrate on what was going on. This was different than Crescent Mountain - this wasn't a surprise attack on an enemy fortress - this was a surprise attack on Baron!  
As they clamoured out with the rest of the Fighters, however, they realized too late that there was little they could do to stop the oncoming slaughter -   
Bombs, balls of fire, barrels of hot tar, and other things were suddenly bombarded at the City with Eblan's fleet of catapults. Even as Kain charged through the street with the others, the City was being destroyed.  
A burning ball of flame smashed into the street near him, and he heard a series of loud yells. But he didn't turn to look. He couldn't stop.  
He reached the City Walls and waited. Rows of archers lined the top of the walls, doing their best to fend off the intruders before they reached the gates, but in the event that they failed, the armies were waiting to burst out and drive them off.  
If they could.  
A loud crash made him turn.  
One of the Walls was collapsing. A large portion of it crumbled to the ground under the fire of the catapults, and the Eblanian attack force instantly swarmed in through the gap.  
Without thinking, he charged at them, along with probably about fifty others, engaging them immediately and fighting for his life, wildly, driven by a fear he'd never felt before. His injury from the last battle was still not yet fully healed, but he knew there was no time to dwell on that now. He ignored the pain, and fought.  
And fought.  
The gates burst open, and the invading army plunged into the streets of Baron, and with them they brought a sudden feeling of despair for all those fighting to save their Kingdom. Despair and hopelessness.  
Reinforcements came from the Castle - the entire team of Black Mages, giving voice to their spells in the hope of bringing down the attackers. The Kingdom became a battlefield, and the battlefield was suddenly so filled with fire, lightning, and ice that it was hard for Kain to tell who and what he was fighting.  
But that didn't matter - he just had to keep fighting anyway - better that he couldn't see his opponents - he didn't want to take the chance of falling out of this battle as he had the last.  
The White Mages arrived, with their CUREs and their SHELLs, and other spells that were used to restore the Baronian fighters and protect them from further harm.  
Marion alone wielded the spell known as WHITE.  
The wall that had joined the Castle to the City collapsed completely as the enemy force attempted to get to the Castle by means other than the City. And cut them off from one another.  
There're too few of us - too few - they're going to win - they're going to take Baron -  
He couldn't shake the thought. They couldn't win. Their armies were scant and the few people they had were mostly wounded already -   
But even as these thoughts pounded on him, he could sense the enemy falling back.  
The Archers continued their onslaught, now turned to the insides of the Walls, aiming carefully to avoid hitting their own.   
Between them, the fighters, and the mages . . .   
Finally, Eblan called retreat.  
As they charged away, leaving the City a devastated ruin, no one even considered following.  
  
Kain took one wild look around what had been, until an mere hour ago, the usual stalwart City of Baron, and felt himself grow weak.  
I can't pass out . . . I can't pass out . . .  
He stabilized his feet and realized, for the first time, that he hadn't seen Cecil since the beginning of the attack.  
Most of the buildings were ruined - burned to the ground, or blown up, or just demolished by the fighting that had taken place. Yet, he realized, he saw none of the citizens of the City anywhere. What could have -   
No, he'd worry about that later. He had to find Cecil.  
  
"Check that - the City's been blown up . . . "  
It took longer than he thought it would to accomplish this, and when he did finally locate his missing friend, it was to come face to face with a very shameful expression on a very shaky person.  
"I can't believe that happened," Cecil sighed, after being partially restored by a Potion. "Really, I can't believe it . . . "  
Cecil had, as it came out, been among the many who had been struck down by the catapulted attacks - one of the balls of fire had come down right on him.   
Kain remembered the ball striking. He remembered that he'd been too preoccupied to check the damage it had done. He hadn't even noticed when Cecil had been struck down.  
He felt rather ashamed of that.  
Cecil, on the other hand, seemed ashamed that the whole thing had happened.  
"I still . . . I can't believe that happened . . . "  
Kain snagged another Potion from someone passing by and cracked it over Cecil's head, returning enough of his strength that he could get back to his feet.  
"Don't worry about it," Kain told him in a reserved voice. "We still managed to get rid of them . . . "  
"But at what cost . . . ?" Cecil murmured, taking in the devastation. "Kain, check it! The City blew up!! What can we do now?!?!?!"  
A whirring sound shook the ground, suddenly, and then, one by one, the people of Baron began appearing through the Serpent Gate.  
"Of course," Kain mused out loud. "When we realized we were under attack, everyone used the Serpent Road to get to safety . . . so everyone's okay!"  
"Everyone who left is okay," a passing Mage corrected.  
That hit home. So many people had been killed in the invasion -   
"It's the end of the world as we know it," sighed Sir Rorunar, coming up beside them. "You two okay? Good . . . wish that were the case with more . . . "  
He moved on past them, checking in with the wounded, offering comfort in the form of a placating smile and meaningless words spoken in a low, melodic voice.  
Kain had to grin.  
"I'm telling you, that guy is immortal," he told Cecil. "Not a scratch on him."  
Cecil shuddered.  
"Wish I knew his secret."  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(The Stupid Prince)  
  
Cid couldn't help but feel that Rorunar would've gotten along great with KluYa. They both made about the same amount of sense: none.  
"So," he'd asked him idly one afternoon, running into the Half-Esper on the streets, "what's it like being three-thousand years ahead of your own time?"  
He shrugged.  
"It's really not my place to say. I didn't pay much attention . . . nothing lasts forever, you know. Well, very little, anyway."  
"Really."  
"Really." Rorunar sighed and looked around at the City. "A lot of what I knew has been lost, though. Hmm." He glanced at Cid, who always felt somewhat queasy making contact with those silvery eyes. "I used to know another guy named Cid."  
"Really?"  
"Yep. Interesting guy . . . tell me, you know anything about Airships?"  
Cid froze in his tracks.  
"What do you know about them?" he inquired in a cold voice.  
Rorunar shrugged.  
"Oh . . . just wondered."  
And he trudged off to do whatever.  
Cid shook his head.  
Was it some kind of theme? Strange men coming from nowhere with input on his pet project? It had to be fate. It just had to.   
But Rorunar? He was beyond any kind of fate Cid had met with yet.  
  
"He may be odd," Matryad told him later concerning the new arrival in the City, "but from what I hear, he's an amazing fighter."  
"Yeah, I heard," Cid acknowledged. "I guess the King's pretty happy with him. That stupid Prince, though . . . "  
"Oh, him. Well, maybe he'll catch a plague or something before he's crowned."  
"Well, then what would we do? Someone's gotta be a King!"  
"We could make like Toroia!"  
"Toroia?"  
"Yes! Get a bunch of people who act like they know what they're doing, and let them fight about how to run the Kingdom all day!"  
"You'd get a kick out of that, wouldn't you?"  
"Oh yes, I would."  
Cid was silent for a moment, wondering whether he should tell her about the strange conversation he'd had with the Dragoon earlier that day.  
"He knows something about the Airships," he finally said.  
Matryad frowned.  
"How?"  
"I don't know!" Cid replied, shrugging. "He just asked right out if I knew anything about them!"  
"Well," Matryad speculated, "the diagrams your father and his people found were very old . . . maybe they date back to Rorunar's original time. I mean, maybe they were commonplace when he was growing up."  
Cid blinked. The concept of that strange man ever being a kid boggled his mind.  
"I don't know. But I really don't intend to ask, either. There's little or no chance we'll be seeing another Airship in Baron . . . "  
"Hm," Matryad hummed. "We're still young, Cid. A lot can happen in a lifetime."  
  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Knight?)  
  
"And so," Rorunar summarized, weaving in and out of the dwindling lines of fighters, "the King wants us to try and balance out our forces. He says there're a lot more Dragoons left than anyone else . . . so he wants some of you to switch to another vocation."  
"He's an idi - " Jason began to object, but was cut off as Kain slammed his hand over his mouth.  
"Think what you like," Rorunar said, emphasizing Kain's action, "but keep it to yourself. You run a terrible risk, speaking against the King. I recommend you don't."  
"But," Cecil objected, "how could he expect us to just up and switch?"  
Rorunar sighed, wincing.  
"In fact, Cecil, you're one of the ones suggested for a change. Apparently, someone noticed that your Jump lacks zip, and says you'd make a better Knight."  
In spite of himself, Cecil had to snort at the concept of himself as a Knight.  
"Also, all you more recent additions to our little group . . . " Rorunar continued, speaking to Cecil's entire class, "are asked to switch to another force."  
"I still say he's an idio - " Jason began again.  
Kain pounded him upside the head, and he shut up.  
"What does he expect to accomplish by doing this?" he sharply inquired. "We've all been trained to be Dragoons, not Knights or whatever."  
"What does he expect to accomplish?" Rorunar repeated, blinking. "What else? Fewer Dragoons, more soldiers with utter loyalty to himself. He has said, however, that you, Kain, are to remain with us. No one else is permitted to accept you."  
"HA!" someone yelled. "Of course - he just likes knowing that he's forced one of us under his thumb - "  
"Shut up," Rorunar snapped. "We're all hating this, but the best choice of action, I'm afraid, is to go along with it."  
"What?!" was the general cry.  
Rorunar raised a hand for silence.  
"Listen," he explained, "our King is one with much . . . persuasion . . . at his disposal."  
"He can't order you to move us," someone reminded him.  
"No - but he can make it very clear that unless we do as he says, we may find ourselves in a whole lot more trouble than we're currently able to handle."  
"You mean he'll have us attacked by our own people if we don't obey?!" Cecil exclaimed.  
"Goodness, Cecil, you're a real bright boy, you know that?"  
"He can't do that," Kain snapped.  
"Why not? Everyone must obey the King - if he says to take a group of unruly Dragoons and put them in order, then you'd better believe that's exactly what everyone's going to do." Rorunar frowned. "Enough of us have been cut down recently - I'm not feeling up to allowing anymore to be lost. Especially when it's within our abilities to prevent it."  
"But we've taken our oaths," pointed out another. "We can't switch."  
Rorunar shuddered.  
"Sure you can. If the King says so. And he says so."   
Cecil felt everyone around him looking back and forth between friends, muttering and trying to decide what to do. He just let himself stare straight at the ground. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to meet Kain's gaze. Kain's fate was already decided - he had to stay where he was. There was no choice. But staying here, even with all his freedom taken, was surely better than switching over to one of the other factions - all of which had been against the Dragoons for centuries -   
He didn't have a choice, though. He knew that. It wasn't worth fighting over, not worth setting them against their own people to remain.   
They had to do as the King ordered.  
Cecil agreed with Jason.  
The King was an idiot.  
  
Later that evening, he stood in Sir Rorunar's office. Officially resigning.  
Rorunar shook his head, seeming sadly helpless for the first time Cecil had ever seen.  
"Sorry all this happened, Cecil . . . believe me, no one's more sorry than I am. But you're taking it better than most of the others who've been through here today, I suppose."  
Cecil shrugged.  
"No use wasting away over it, I guess."  
"No, I guess not." He frowned. "Cecil, why did you come here? I mean, why did you really join the Dragoons? And don't give me that Accountant stuff again - "  
"Kain wanted to," Cecil cut in, "but he was really nervous about it. I hadn't really cared about what I'd end up doing, so I told him I'd come along."  
"He asked you to?"  
"No, and he thought I was crazy when I said I would."  
"I see."  
"Maybe all this is just as well - I can't Jump right, anyway."  
"No, you can't. But that doesn't make this any less wrong."  
"Well . . . it's not wrong . . . it's just not right."  
"Nope, I checked it, it's completely wrong."  
"Why's it wrong?"  
"Because I checked it!" Rorunar turned away and seethed slightly. "His father was weak, and he is a fool. Cecil, I pray that in your time, you will finally see a decent King upon that throne. Preferably one that isn't stupid."  
"Sir?" Cecil asked, deciding to be spontaneous, "are you really descended from an Esper? And have special magic and the powers of a water elemental?"  
Rorunar grinned slightly.  
"Would it make any difference to you if I was?"  
Cecil shrugged.  
"No, I guess it wouldn't make any difference at all. I just wondered."  
"Wonder all you like. Believe what you can. Accept only what you must."  
And thus, Cecil was shipped off to Knighthood.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Priorities, Loyalties, and Duties)  
  
Kain, feeling a little claustrophobic, had slipped out of the Barracks late in the evening and climbed up on the roof, where he was sitting now, turning things over in his head.  
That stupid King. That stupid stupid King. He'd ruined everything.  
Everything that he and those he knew had been fighting for. Ruined with one order and one veiled threat.  
Who knew what would happen now? Cecil was, in all actuality, now a member of an enemy faction in the Baronian Army. And there was nothing either of them could do about it.  
As he sat there, he caught sight of a young woman rushing out of the Castle and into the City. Squinting slightly, he recognized her after a bit of thinking.  
"Rosa!" he greeted, jumping down from the roof and landing beside her.  
"Yow!" she exclaimed, startled by his sudden appearance. "Huh?" She stared at him blankly for a moment before brightening. "Kain! Hi! What are you doing here?"  
He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the Barracks.  
"I live here."  
"Oh, yeah."  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Late class."  
"Class?"  
"In White Magic."  
"Magic?" Kain raised his eyebrows. "You?"  
She shrugged self-consciously.  
"Yep. After that attack on the Kingdom . . . I couldn't stand to be there and not be able to do anything." She shook her head. "So I'm going to be a White Wizard. So I can help."  
Kain nodded.  
"Just watch where you sign your loyalties."  
"Yes . . . I'd heard about what has happened here. How's Cecil, anyway? It's been so long since I've talked to either of you . . . "  
"He's doing okay - he's going to be a Knight."  
"A Knight? How nice."  
"Yeah. Nice." He shuddered, an ancient quote coming to mind: "All nice people go to Hell." "Why do I get the feeling that the King is just going to break him into a thousand pieces . . . "  
"Oh, Cecil's got a good head on his neck. He'll manage."  
"Like we all will?"  
She nodded.  
"Priorities, Loyalties, and Duties. That's what it's all about, isn't it? I mean, we all have our priorities, but fortunately, that alone remains the same for all of us - we have to protect the Kingdom. And its people."  
Kain nodded. That made sense.  
"But we all have our different Loyalties . . . whether to the King or to ourselves . . . or to whatever or whoever we decide. And that's where we run into problems."  
"Our priorities should overshadow that," he pointed out. "That's what's most important - the safety of our people. Not who gets to give the orders."  
"Which is where duty comes into it," she supposed. "Even when our loyalties collide, we have to do our duty. Which is different for each profession, but amounts to the same thing."  
"Protecting the Kingdom," Kain surmised. "But from what?"  
Rosa frowned.  
"Well . . . Eblan. What else?"  
"Try each other. The whole thing's screwed up - none of that matters anymore. Everything's been taken over by one word: obedience. No matter what happens to no matter who or what, the King's in charge. No one can fight him. There're too many stupid brainless obedient people in this Kingdom who'd rather hide behind their obedience than stand strong and do their duty."  
"But that's also hiding."  
"Huh?"  
"By saying that . . . you're hiding from your own duty, saying that you can't because others won't."  
He had to consider that, and he wasn't sure he liked his conclusions.  
"Priorities, loyalties, and duties," she reintegrated. "That's just the way it is. Whether or not we admit it. And that's the way it's going to be. Forever."  
"Forever?" He raised an eyebrow. "And for now? I just don't see it, Rosa."  
"Forever, and for now," she firmly stated, turning and rushing on home.  
Kain watched her go and climbed back onto the roof.  
He had even more to think about now.  
  
)----------- Cid ----------(  
(Revisions of Twilight)  
  
Cid pulled out the files and diagrams from where he'd hidden them.  
Maybe it was treason, but he didn't care. He couldn't go on like this.  
Quietly unfurling the layout design for Twilight, he sighed to himself and looked over the drawings and designs that had been forbidden to look at for the past ten years. Nothing had changed. Of course, nothing could have changed anyway, but it was just good to see.  
A quick examination of the records, combined with the years of experience he now possessed, allowed him to, in just minutes, see a multitude of tiny modifications which could be made to the design that, when combined, would improve performance, speed, and -  
He slammed the diagram shut. He didn't know why he was doing this to himself - planning all these changes to improve the design when he knew that another Airship would never be built.  
But he couldn't help himself.  
Why not?  
"Cid?!" came Matryad's astonished hiss.   
He must have jumped about six feet.  
"What are you doing up?" he asked sharply. "It's two in the morning!!"  
"What am I doing up? What are you doing up?!?! Hon, you get caught messing with Airship design, and the King's gonna have your head!!"  
"Then the King's just going to have to not find out, isn't he?"  
"But - but - but - why? Why, all of a sudden, do you have to press this?! Just wait! He may still come around on the matter, and then you can tinker all you want, but now - "  
"Why?" And Cid, despite the need for silence on the matter, burst out laughing. "Why, Matryad? Because I'm obsessed beyond the safe limit of obsession!"  
And he turned away from her and began marking on the diagrams, which changes should be made where, what would happen if this was done here . . .   
He knew he was obsessed. He'd known it for years. But during those years, there had been nothing he'd been able to do about it except get more and more obsessed with each passing day. Now it finally snapped. He had all but redesigned the entire Airship in his mind, and had to get it out on paper, or he'd go thoroughly crazy.  
And no one really wants to be thoroughly crazy. That would, in a word, suck.  
Twilight had a unique design. He, his father, and KluYa had spent enough time on it to assure that it would not only work, but that it would work well. But fate, as well as that great evil of his, had interfered, leaving that dream a pile of burnt ash on the streets of Baron.  
This time it would be different. The Airship would be designed, and every minor fault from the original design would be eliminated. This would be more than just a flying weapon. This would be a work of art.  
Matryad watched him with an expression of morbid interest as he puttered away at the design. He knew that she knew that even by watching, she would be considered an accomplice to treason. But she still sat there. Just watching.  
The King would come around. He'd have to. Sooner or later, he'd realize that this was the only way to end this terrible war.  
And when he did, Cid the Engineer was going to be ready.  
Why?  
Because he was buff. Cid the Buff. Buff Cid.  
"What are you going to name it?" Matryad asked out of nowhere, startling him out of his considerations.  
"Huh?"  
"The Airship. The last one was Twilight . . . what are you going to name this one?"  
Cid frowned, thinking.  
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I didn't get a choice about the last one. Since I was just some kid working with them, I didn't get that sort of privilege."  
"So?" she pressed. "What are you going to name it?"  
"Buffy?"  
"No."  
"Well," he replied with a grin, "if the first was Twilight, then I think at long last that we should have one named Dawn."  
"Makes sense," Matryad agreed thoughtfully. "And when you finish the design, what are you going to do?"  
"Wait," Cid quickly replied. "The day's gonna come . . . we'll see our Airship fly. I can feel it."  
"You can feel it?" she replied. "Sure Julia didn't just happen to mention it to you?"  
He glanced up at her quickly.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You know what I mean."  
"No, I don't."  
"Julia's got powers. She can see things. Has she mentioned anything to you about the Airship?"  
"Julia? No, she hasn't. Why would she? What sort of powers - Matryad, are you sure you're thinking straight? What kind of powers could she possibly have?"  
"You know her background is questionable. We know where her bloodline comes from."  
"Nothing that would suggest this sort of thing!"  
"How do we know that? Her people have been renegade for so long - "  
"If they were as powerful as that, they wouldn't need to hide and lurk the way they do."  
Matryad began to reply, but silenced instantly as they both heard the door downstairs creak open and closed again.  
Cid hastily rolled up the designs and shoved them under his pillow, knowing what would be done to him and Matryad if he were caught with them.  
A moment later, as they both watched, bemused, Julia silently rose up the stairs, carrying a large pot of tea.  
"Thought you might need the caffeine rush while you redesigned the Airship," she told them by way of greeting.  
It was all Cid could do to keep from screaming.  
"You really do have some kind of power you never told me about?!!?" he exclaimed as loudly as he dared, astonished that his old friend could have kept such a secret, and he'd never even suspected.  
Julia shrugged.  
"You never asked." She frowned slightly as he pulled the designs back out. "Have you ever received any word on KluYa's children?"  
"No. Why?"  
She shook her head.  
"I just wondered . . . "  
Cid knew she had done more than just wondered. But he didn't press it. He knew that if Julia had anything concrete on those two, she'd let him know.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Captain Cecil)  
  
"Reporting as ordered, Sir."  
"Don't call me Sir."  
"Yes, Sir."  
Cid pressed a hand against his forehead as if in pain.  
"Something wrong, Sir?" Cecil inquired.  
"Look, kid, I've heard so many stories about you that I feel like I've put up with you personally for the past however many years. So whether or not you realized it, we've been on a first-name basis for quite some time, now."  
Cecil frowned, still not sure what to think.  
"You know why you're here, Cecil?"  
"Haven't the foggiest, Sir - euh - Cid. I was told this morning to meet you here."  
"Here" was outside the City Walls at a very very large warehouse which looked as if it had been deserted for a good many years. Cecil recognized it easily - it was where the doomed Airship Twilight had been constructed.  
"And so you did. Good move." Cid seemed to be examining him very closely, taking notice of every detail on his face. "Take off your helmet - it makes me nervous."  
Cecil, still feeling confused, did as he was told and let his violet lockes spill over his shoulders as he pulled off his helmet.  
Cid nodded slightly, as if he'd just confirmed some theory, but wanted to keep it a secret.  
"Anyway, Cecil, I have a special assignment for you, if you want it."  
"What is it?"  
The Engineer grinned triumphantly.  
"You see, after the attack on the City - I'm sure you remember?"  
Cecil shuddered. It had been three years since that attack, but even now signs of it could still be seen in the City.  
"I see you do. Anyway, after the attack, the King and I have been reconsidering many things, and he has come to the conclusion that it would be in the best interest of everyone in the Kingdom if the - if the Airship were to be reattempted."  
"You're going to build another Airship?" Cecil inquired politely, although he had no clue how this involved him.  
"You got it, kid. Now I suppose you're wondering where you are involved in this."  
"Yes, Sir, I was."  
"Don't call me Sir. Anyway, Cecil, I can build the Airship, but I need someone to fly it."  
Cecil blinked, flabbergasted.  
"You want me to fly an Airship?!" he blurted, astonished.  
Cid nodded.  
"Now, it could take well over a year to build it - so that'll give you plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the technique, don't you think?"  
"What technique?! None of us know how to fly an Airship! No one on the planet has a clue how to handle anything like that in the air - "  
"One person does, Cecil. One person who has flown in one before."  
A chill ran up Cecil's spine.  
"That's spooky."  
"Is it? Sorry."  
"Who? I mean, how could anyone have flown in an Airship? The only one ever built blew up before it got more than ten feet off the ground!"  
"Twilight wasn't the only Airship ever built, Cecil. Just the only one within the last three-thousand years, that we know of."  
Realization jolted Cecil so hard that Cid laughed.  
"You don't mean - "  
"Cecil, don't look so surprised," admonished someone new.  
Cecil turned and saw, surprisingly unsurprisingly, Sir Rorunar perched like a cat on the roof of the warehouse.  
"Sir Rorunar?!"  
"Why not? I was frozen in ice for three-thousand years . . . but as far as I can tell, my brain hasn't gone too numb."  
A series of conflicting emotions ran through Cecil, and he turned back to Cid.  
"Why me?" he inquired.  
"Why not?" Cid quipped back.  
"Because I'm the new kid. Because I've only been officially knighted for a little over a year, when there're flocks of more experienced people in all the vocations. Because I've been proven to be terrible at anything that has to do with the air."  
Sir Rorunar burst out laughing - bright, musical laughter that made the nearby Baronian Swallow look around in confusion. It then laid an egg, much to its surprise.  
"There's a lot to the air, Cecil," he informed the young Knight, sliding down from the roof and alighting easily beside him. "Jumping is only a very small portion of it."  
"So why me, then?"  
Cid crossed his arms challengingly.  
"Because."  
Cecil put a hand to his own forehead. He didn't feel up to rising to Cid's challenge. This was all too weird for him.  
He looked at Sir Rorunar. They hadn't spoken in over two years - not since shortly after Cecil was enrolled in training for Knighthood. He hadn't ever had a chance to stop back and see everyone . . . or maybe he just hadn't dared after enough time passed.  
The King was more than edgy around the Dragoons. In fact (and more likely than not at Baigan's urging), he seemed turned dead against them. And because Cecil had now sworn loyalty to the King . . .  
But Sir Rorunar apparently held no grudge against him. Not that he would. Sir Rorunar never changed, Cecil realized. Everything about him was exactly as it had been three years ago.  
"Relax, Cecil," Rorunar told him. "You just might like it."  
For a moment, Cecil looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what to think.  
Then the last person he expected to see arrived on the scene.  
"CID!!!" came Veronica's unmistakable yell as she bounded over the hill and down to where the three of them stood. "Oh, Cecil! Hi! Long time no see! Cid," and she turned away from him to the Engineer, "I GOT IT!!!!!!"  
She waved a document under Cid's nose. He quickly snatched it and read what it said.  
"Woo-hoo!" he whooped. "YES!!"  
He caught Veronica's hands and they danced in a wild circle for a few moments before calming down.  
Sir Rorunar seemed hard-pressed to not start laughing again. However, out of respect for a local wildlife, he restrained himself.  
"I told you, you skeptical old goat!" Cid jibed at him, tossing Rorunar the document.  
Rorunar didn't even read it.   
"Yeah, yeah," he jibed back. "But I didn't think you'd ever stoop so low to get it . . . "  
Veronica starting laughing so hard she fell over on the ground.  
"Crud, you should've SEEN it!!" she cried, still laughing so hard that Cecil worried she'd burst a blood vessel.  
"What's going on?" Cecil asked in a tiny voice, feeling a little claustrophobic among all the joy.  
"This is going on," Rorunar told him, handing him the document.  
"We got us a contract, signed by the King!" Cid sang. "Saying that we have commission to build five Airships - and no matter what natural disaster, flaw in planning, or great evil intervenes, we cannot be canceled again! This time, we're going to get our Airships off the ground!"  
Cecil skimmed down the paper.  
That was right! Somehow . . . they'd gotten the King's guarantee that they would not be canceled again.  
"How?" he asked. "I mean, he'd been so adamant about not building them, how did you get him to - "  
Veronica cut him off, flinging her arms around him and kissing him soundly on one cheek.  
"Gosh, Cecil, I never noticed how handsome you are!" she exclaimed with a wink.  
Cecil blinked.  
"You flirted with the King and got him to sign it?"  
She started laughing again and began dancing in wild circles around them all.  
"Low," Rorunar reminded Cid. "Very, very low."  
Cid shrugged.  
"It was her idea."  
Veronica still hadn't stopped laughing.  
"You should've seen that old coot!" she cried. "And that idiot, Baigan . . . " And whatever other words she may have said were lost in her laughter.  
Suddenly, Cid looked perturbed.  
"What about Baigan?"  
She sobered somewhat.  
"Nothing."  
"Veronica . . . "  
"Look, I was totally harmless!"  
"I warned you to stay away from that creep! You don't know what he might do - "  
"Oh, Baigan's a sissy, he always has been!"  
Cid shook his head and groaned.  
"For cryin' out loud, Verny, now you'll never get him off your back!"  
Veronica looked at him seriously for a moment, then burst out laughing all over again.  
Rorunar shook his head.  
"So low . . . you two will stoop so low for one piece of paper . . . "  
"Stop being so critical, Rorunar!" Cid snapped. "It worked, didn't it?"  
"Did it?"  
"Yes!"  
"Oh! Well then . . . never mind."  
Veronica's laughing only increased.  
Cid rolled his eyes at her and turned back to Cecil.  
"So what do you think?" he inquired. "You with us?"  
Cecil lowered his head, staring at the ground, still feeling a little uncertain if he really wanted to do this. He looked up again and caught Rorunar's gaze, exactly as it had always been: prying, but somehow aloof.  
"I'll get back to you on that," was all he could say to Cid before he turned and sped away from them all.  
"I hope this is a good idea," he heard Cid say after he was over the hill and hidden from view, but still within hearing distance.  
"Oh, don't mind Cecil," Veronica assured him. "He could be having a bad day . . . but he's a great guy. Love 'im like a brother."  
And he could hear Rorunar's voice, but couldn't make out the words.  
And he wasn't sure he wanted to.  
  
He headed back to a place near his house, a small pond with a fallen tree at its bank that was nice to sit on. Surrounded by forest, and the one place he felt he could still go and find some piece of peace in the world.  
For some reason, Sir Rorunar's presence intimidated him. He wasn't exactly sure why - he'd never had a problem with the Dragoon in the past. Much the opposite, in fact. He'd grown to rather like the man in past years. But in these last two . . .   
Cecil shook his head, suddenly wondering if all the badmouthing of Dragoons he'd been subjected to as a Knight was finally setting in. He hoped not.  
The forest parted, and Kain entered the tiny clearing.  
"Hey," he greeted, sitting beside Cecil. "What's going on?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, Rorunar asked very nonchalantly if you were having any form of problems, which is a sure sign that he thinks something's screwing with your head. Now, I'd not been under the impression that anything was wrong. I'd figured you'd have told me if something was. So, is something?"  
Cecil shrugged.  
"I'm not sure. I take it he told you about the whole thing with the Airships?"  
"He said that Cid had asked him to help him and a selected individual learn to correctly fly an Airship. I didn't know it was going to be you."  
"Neither did I. I'm not sure if it's a good idea."  
"Why not? You've still got the strongest stomach of anyone I know. I doubt you'd get airsickness or anything like that, so what's the problem?"  
"What do you think?" Cecil snapped, suddenly impatient.  
"I think that you're worried about the consequences of a Knight working in close proximity with the Captain of the Dragoons."  
"I think you're right."  
Kain shrugged.  
"It's up to you, Cecil. You know Sir Rorunar. And he doesn't intend on getting you into any trouble - he never did. He'll do his job, and no more if you don't want him to. It's completely your call as to how close he gets."  
" . . . "  
"Really, Cecil," Kain went on in a softer voice, "I'd have thought you'd be happy about it. Dragoon, Knight, you could get the best of both worlds, if you think about it. Because as we all know, the best part of being a Dragoon is Sir Rorunar's bad jokes."  
Cecil, in spite of himself, had to laugh. He was very familiar with Rorunar's bad jokes.  
"And Cid, well, he's just Cid. I'm wary of the guy, but that's just because I've driven him so crazy over the past few years that he's hurled a brick or two at my head. But that's my own fault. He's supposed to be an okay guy."  
"He hurled bricks at you?"  
Kain shrugged again, this time tossing out that sarcastic smirk of his.  
"Yeah . . . I'd stop by every now and then to see Veronica home . . . and get into little tangles with him."  
"Hm."  
"Hm hm. So, Cecil, are you going to do it?"  
"I don't know."  
"Gotta decide, man."  
"I guess I'd normally jump at this . . . "  
"So why aren't you?"  
"Because I can't get over the feeling that Cid has some other reason for wanting to keep an eye on me."  
Kain frowned.  
"Really? Odd. Think he means any harm?"  
"No, not really. It's just a little freaky."  
"I wouldn't worry about it."   
Cecil looked at Kain, and suddenly got the feeling that something was being held from him.  
"Are you keeping something from me?" he asked pointedly.  
Kain shook himself.  
"I was just remembering something my mother said once."  
"What did she say?"  
Blinking slowly, Kain looked him straight in the eye.  
"She told me not to tell you."  
Cecil bit his bottom lip.  
"Well . . . give me a hint."  
Kain swallowed, looking very uncomfortable.  
"Just be careful, Cecil." And he got up and shot away with the practiced speed of one whose living was based on an agility rating.  
"Well . . . " Cecil said into nothingness. "That's comforting."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Stalkers)  
  
Veronica paced back and forth across the room anxiously.  
Kain just watched her go, not about to interfere with her incessant mumblings.  
"He's such a jerk!!" she finally blurted.  
"Who?" Kain inquired lightly, pouring her a glass of water, which she chugged.  
People get thirsty after mumbling incessantly for about two hours.  
"Baigan!" she seethed. "Really . . . I flirt with him once, and I'm still hearing about it five months later!"  
It was all Kain could do to keep from laughing.  
"Maybe he's just completely taken in with your charm," he suggested jovially.  
"Not hardly!" she spat. "He's furious!"  
Kain frowned, suddenly concerned.  
"What do you mean?"  
"He may be a blockhead, but even he finally realized the stunt I pulled on him and the King to get that contract . . . and he's not happy about it. Not happy at all."  
"So what's he doing?"  
"Nothing I can tie him to. But this is the third night this week someone's tried to mug me on my way home."  
"What?!" Kain snapped, jumping to his feet. "Why didn't you tell me th - "  
"What could you do? You have a day job - defending the Kingdom and all that stuff. I can defend myself, Kain, you know that. It just bothers me that he'd stoop this low to get revenge - I don't know how low his line is. That creep is driving me crazy!!!"  
This news definitely disturbed Kain. The very thought of that pompous ------- stalking his half-sister made his blood boil. But he knew she was very capable of taking care of herself, and that she never left the house without being armed at least with Aerin, their mother's blue Mithril dagger (which she was pretty darn lethal with). Still, he was concerned.  
And he knew for a fact that Baigan's limit was very, very low. He'd stoop to however low it took to get back at her for humiliating him, because over half the City knew how she'd gotten the contract out of the King. It didn't look very good for either of them, and their humiliation was wrought entirely by this Engineer girl with the long, black and almost blue-hair.  
"Maybe you should stay with someone else for a while," he suggested. "I mean, maybe it would be safer that way."  
She snuffed it off.  
"I'm not afraid of that arrogant pig, Kain. Just annoyed. Very annoyed. If anyone should be afraid, it should be him, not me."  
Still, he worried.  
  
He made a point of seeking out Cecil upon his return to the Barracks the next day. Knights were on the opposite end from the Dragoons, and the two ends were carefully separated, but it was fairly easy to find him, being familiar with his schedule.  
When Cecil headed out to meet with Cid, Kain caught up with him.  
"Cecil, I need a favor," he said by way of greeting.  
Cecil raised an eyebrow.  
"What's up?"  
"Veronica. She's being stalked."  
"Huh?"  
"Yeah - you see her more than I do anymore. Just keep an eye on her for me, could you?"  
"Sure, no problem. Who's stalking her?"  
"She thinks it's a certain member of the King's Guard who has a grievance," Kain replied, not wanting to mention any names when it was so likely they'd be overheard.  
Cecil nodded, understanding.  
"She never mentioned having any trouble."  
"She rarely does. I wish I could be around more at home - but I can't. You see her during the day, though."  
"Yeah. I'll keep an eye out."  
  
Even with that reassurance, along with Veronica's capability, he felt freaked out by the situation.  
A few nights later, the situation finally came to a boil. Literally.  
It was the middle of the night, he'd been sleeping uneasily as it was, and jumped a mile when the fire klaxon rang throughout the City.  
Somehow getting his footing after the rude awakening, he tossed on his clothes in a few seconds and bolted, much to the wonderment of the others in his room. But he ignored them - they weren't important right now.  
It took a little over five minutes to reach his house.  
Too long.  
Already, it was enveloped in flames, flames constantly reaching higher and higher.  
Neighbors and others from all around the City were gathered outside, staring, horrified.  
"Where's Veronica?!?!" he frantically inquired of one, who turned and gawked at him.  
"Veronica? Well, she's in there, of course! No one could get through those flames - "  
They'd sent for a Black Wizard. Someone who could cast an ICE and put out the fire. But Mages took forever to do anything - he wouldn't get there in time.  
So Kain, taking one look up into the burning house, did the first thing his mind told him to.  
He Jumped.  
Up, up to his own window, which he always left open when he left. He grabbed the sill and swung himself inside.  
"Kain!!!!" came the frantic yell of his half-sibling who half charged half stumbled over to him through the burning hallway. "Get me outta here!!!!"  
He scooped her up without a word and Jumped right back out of the window, landing lightly on the ground.  
A loud crash was heard - the second floor had just collapsed.  
As they watched, the house fell in, collapsing into nothing but a ruin.  
Veronica clung to his neck, shaking.  
"Are you okay?" he asked in a voice that was also shaking, horrified by what was happening.  
"They burned our house!" she hoarsely cried. "Momma's house! They burned it!"  
"But are you okay?!" he repeated, more urgently, setting her on the ground.  
She wrapped her arms around her knees, buried her face, and just shook.   
"Verny?"  
" . . . "  
"Veronica!!"  
" . . . "  
Rosa appeared.  
"Veronica," she said in a calm voice, "look at me."  
Veronica wouldn't look up.  
Rosa sighed and began chanting. It took Kain a moment to realize that she must be casting a healing spell of some sort - he couldn't get used to the concept of her using magic.  
Cecil arrived next.  
"I just heard - !" he exclaimed, sliding to a halt on the ground beside them. "Is she - "  
"I don't know! Veronica!?!!"  
" . . . "  
Then Cid arrived, followed by Sir Rorunar (of all people. After all, the so-called demi-Esper rarely involved himself with the affairs of mortals).  
"Verny?!" Cid exclaimed. "What the heck happened?!?!"  
Rorunar tossed one glance at each of them, looked over at the remains of the house, which was just now being extinguished, and looked up past Kain and Cecil, suddenly tensing. He didn't say anything, but his eyes flashed bright silver for half an instant.  
Kain followed his gaze and turned around.  
Baigan stood a few yards behind him, shaking his head.  
"Terrible tragedy," he said in a sugary voice. "I do hope the lady's all right?"  
And he turned and left.  
Rosa finished her spell, and Veronica finally looked up, burns lining her face even after the CURE1.  
"I'm gonna kill him," she seethed in a low voice. "I'm gonna kill him - "  
She struggled against hands which tried to hold her still and climbed to her feet, turning to where Baigan was disappearing into the crowd.  
"I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him - "  
Kain reached out and grabbed her arm, but she shook it off violently, suddenly taking off after the Captain of the Guard, yelling and screaming incoherently.  
Cecil and Kain both jumped after her, grabbing her and forcing the hysterical woman to the ground, where she continued screaming, beating the pavement of the street with her fists.  
"Verny - calm down!!" Kain cried, frantic. "Verny!!"  
Rorunar knelt beside her and placed his hand against the back of her neck.  
Almost instantly, she collapsed into silence.  
"What - " Kain began, alarmed, but Rorunar shook his head and held up a silencing hand.  
"She's just Asleep, don't worry," he assured him, soft confidence exuding from every pore.   
He was plotting.  
Kain, feeling too shaken by the whole thing to waste time wondering how Rorunar had done that, just gathered Veronica up in his arms and stood.  
"What now?" he demanded in a rattled tone.  
"Come with me - she can stay with us until we figure out what's going on," Cid told him.  
Kain nodded, and they of them took off.  
Rosa stared after them, he noticed, gawking at Rorunar. Of course, she'd be familiar with the standard SLEEP spell, and know that whatever Rorunar had cast, that was not it. She had every reason to gawk at him.  
But Kain didn't really care at that moment who might be gawking at Rorunar.  
He, too, was plotting.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Architect?!??!)  
  
Cid answered the knock at the door and accepted the letter without comment, quickly shutting the door again. He read the paper he'd been handed, and slammed a fist into the wall behind him.  
Cecil, Kain, and Rorunar stood in the other end of the room.  
"What's it say?" Kain asked in a tight voice.  
Cecil glanced at him with concern. Kain was not handling this situation well, and it was worrying him a bit.  
"What's it say?!" Cid snapped, plopping into a chair at the table and gesturing for them to do the same. Matryad appeared in the doorway, listening, carrying their baby girl in her arms.  
Cecil and the others sat without comment. Veronica was still asleep upstairs. Rorunar said she'd be okay. No one asked how he knew. No one cared now he knew. They just accepted that he did.  
"It says," Cid told them with a flourish: "'From His Majesty, King of Baron, to the Honored Head Engineer, Cid. We have been following your progress with much interest in the Airship projects. Congratulations on work well done thus far. However, it has reached our attention that not everyone in your staff appears fully competent. It is our recommendation that the woman in your staff by name of Veronica be removed from this project, and perhaps into a new field altogether. Her work indicates that she would show much promise in the Architectural field. Noted, this is only a suggestion.' Etceteras, etceteras, signed His Majesty, the King!"  
"Only a suggestion my foot!!!" Kain yelled. "That's a threat if I ever heard one - we're being threatened by the King himself!! Isn't there anything anyone can do about this?!?!"  
Silent looks were cast across the table. Matryad left the room.  
Kain sighed.  
"What can we do?" Cecil pointed out. "If we don't do what he suggests - "  
"If we don't do what he suggests, he'll destroy the whole town, if he has to, to get at her!" Kain snapped. "And you all know he will!"  
Cecil glared at the tablecloth in front of him. The hatred he'd felt for the King had slowly subsided as he grew into Knighthood, but this kindled it all right back up to as high as it had ever been, if not considerably higher.  
It was strange. To most people, this King was not a bad one at all. It was only to those who crossed him that he showed the crueler nature within. It was only those on bad terms with him who learned how weak, foolish, and desperate he was. And it was they who always ended up suffering.  
But he'd sworn himself to this King. To serve him. What could he do?  
What could any of them do?  
"The decision should be hers, not ours," Rorunar pointed out, deciding to agree with logic in this case.  
"Well, thank you kindly," came a snippy voice from the stairs.  
Everyone turned and rose as Veronica limped down to their level.  
"Architect? That bloated fool wants me to be an Architect? Fine. I'll be an Architect. For one reason, and one reason only," she added as they all began to protest her hasty answer. "That reason being, Kain's right. I torked 'em off, now he and Baigan will do whatever they feel they must to get their revenge, and I'd rather not involve the Engineering staff. I'll switch. But I'll make sure every danged thing built for that freak has a faulty foundation!!" she ended on a sneering yell.  
"Calm down, Verny," Cid sighed. "Don't do anything that'll get you killed."  
Veronica sat heavily between him and Kain.  
"Cid, I've wanted to be an Engineer my whole life. And I got it. Not only that, I got to work on the Hovercraft and Airship projects. I knew it was too good to last forever. And it was. Just because I knew it was coming, though, doesn't make me any less torked about it!!!"  
"Torked," Rorunar repeated. "What a perfect word."  
Cecil remained silent through all this. He felt like he was contributing nothing to the situation, but he also felt that, as a friend to all parties involved, he had to be there.  
"They'll probably wipe the records," Rorunar pointed out. "They always do, when someone hits a bad note. You'll never have existed as an Engineer, Veronica. I've known of it happening before."  
He threw a glance to Cid, who kept a carefully blank expression.  
Cecil didn't know who he was referring to, but suddenly got a cold feeling inside.  
"Cecil," Rorunar said, dragging him into the conversation. "You have a loyalty to the King."  
Cecil just looked at him blankly for a moment.  
"I also have to duty to the Kingdom," he replied.  
Rorunar nodded once, slowly, satisfied with that, something in his manner seeming deeply satisfied.  
Kain gave him an odd look, but said nothing.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Traitors)  
  
The five of them were almost like a private rebellion against the monarchy.  
Two Dragoons, a Knight, an Engineer, and an Architect.  
Not particularly intimidating.  
But, Kain realized, they couldn't afford to be intimidating. The King's ego was his greatest hindrance - if he ever felt that a small group such as themselves was opposing him, he'd have them squashed by some anonymous force.  
Or rather, have Baigan squash them with some anonymous force.  
The strangest thing about it, though, was the development that Veronica began to rather enjoy being an Architect. But that was beside the point.  
Late at night, Veronica and Cid would still go over the Airship plans together, working out kinks here and there. Even if she couldn't safely be involved with the construction anymore, she still insisted upon contributing to the design. Even if the records would never show any of her involvement.  
Cid continued the construction of Baron's second Airship.  
As he did so, Rorunar and Cecil followed along, figuring out exactly how it would be best to run the different aspects of the ship under various conditions and whatnot.  
He himself did little but watch. Having no official reason for being anywhere near the Airship, he had no excuse to hang out and chat with the others, so he turned his energies elsewhere, excepting for a period of a little over a week during which no one had yet managed to figure out where he'd been, only that he'd asked for "it" and gotten "it," and "it" seemed to have been rather painful. But whatever on Earth had happened when he'd broken the first piece of advice his teacher had given him ("Whatever you do, just don't ask for it."), he emerged from the ordeal a stronger fighter in every aspect.  
On the battlefield over the past year, he'd made himself a name. And a reputation. This hadn't really mattered to him much, though, until one night, after Cecil and Rorunar had returned to the Barracks, and he was chatting lightly with Cecil just outside the City Walls.  
"I'll be the first to admit - it's pretty weird," Cecil admitted. "It's just so huge!"  
Poor guy. He still was a little uncertain about being selected to pilot the Airship, even after going at it for so long with the others.  
"You'll get used to it," Kain absently assured him.  
Cecil shuddered.  
"Something else - we found evidence of monster activity near the site."  
Kain frowned.  
"It seems like there're more than ever lately . . . I wonder where they're all coming from?"  
Cecil shrugged.  
"I dunno . . . checked under any thrones lately?"  
"Ha. I think it's freaky."  
"Yeah, it is. But I think we could handle it if any of them came too close, don't you?"  
"Sure," Kain replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We could take 'em down when we were ten, we could sure as heck do it now!"  
They got an uneasy chuckle out of the memory - one that was quickly cut off by a WHIZZing sound, followed by the faint CLUNK.  
It was unmistakable.  
The shot of an arrow.  
Reacting as one, they both rushed to the wall where the arrow was embedded. There was a paper attached to it.  
Kain pulled it off.  
"Traitor to the King," he read, raising his eyebrows, "and traitor to the Kingdom."  
Cecil glared into the darkness.  
"I'm assuming that the traitor to the King is supposed to be me," he declared into the night, "because I'm a Knight. And that would make you the traitor to the Kingdom, although I'm not so sure how they get that."  
"Simple," Kain explained, also glaring into the darkness. "I'm a Dragoon."  
It was as if he'd just challenge the forces of Hell.  
With the loud THUNK, a masked attacker jumped from the top of the wall, landing on Cecil and driving him into the ground.  
"Argh!!" he exclaimed.  
Before Kain could even think of giving him a hand, another jumped from the wall, but fortunately, he darted aside quicker than the blink of an eye, and the attacker was the only one to hit the dirt.  
He gave Cecil's attacker a swift kick in the head, and then Cecil was up again.  
As Kain pulled him to his feet, however, they turned to see about twenty of the attackers facing them, swords pointed at their throats.  
"Yo, what now?" Kain whispered to Cecil.  
"Euh . . . fight?"  
Kain pulled out his Lance.  
"Good idea."  
The tight circle of attackers closed in on them. Kain did the one thing he could think to do.  
He Jumped.  
Landing on the ground behind his attackers, he managed to sock three of them in the heads as they turned, rendering them senseless.   
Cecil had done the same thing, and while it took him a moment to regain his balance after his rather shaky Jump, he knocked down one of them.  
So the others converged.  
Kain again took to the air, knowing he'd do more damage to them that way than if he stayed on the ground and fought.  
Cecil, as he watched below, just fought. No Jumps, no magic, none of that. Just fought.  
Still, they were outnumbered by about twelve. Not good odds.  
One of them dealt Cecil a staggering blow which sent him right to the ground, stunned. This left the others free to pounce on Kain as he landed, taking out one of them, and quite possibly killing him.  
But the others converged on him, and it was all he could do to raise his hands and drop his Lance.  
"Now," said the one Archer in the group, stepping forward, "don't think we're too bold, attacking you right outside of the City . . . "  
"I think you're more than bold," he replied through gritted teeth as someone bound his wrists together. The Sword tip at his throat kept him from reacting against the motion.  
"Oh, really?"  
"Yes. I think you're rather stupid."  
"Really. And just why is that?"  
Kain didn't answer. Rather, he stared right past his interrogator and just grinned slightly.  
One of them had gotten Cecil, still a little dazed, to his feet and tied his hands, and now he was slammed into him.  
"Hi!" Kain greeted.  
"How's it goin'?" Cecil replied, equally jovial.  
"Cecil, everything is crescent fresh!"  
"Crescent fresh! Ch-yes!!"  
The Archer glared at them both through his mask, seeming confused by their lightheartedness. After all, the two of them were at his mercy -   
"YAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!" came a piercing scream to their left.  
Turning in shock, the Archer gasped as he saw one of his men transformed into a figure of ice.  
He whirled, searching the shadows.  
"Where are you?!?!" he yelled. "I know you're there - where are you?!?!"  
The air wavered slightly, and Sir Rorunar suddenly became visible.  
"I'm right here, no need to yell," he lightly responded. "Now, if you would be so kind as to let your hostages there go - "  
"I think not."  
"Hm? Why?"  
"Because we have a personal vendetta with them!"  
"Really?" Rorunar grinned menacingly. "And do you want me to have a personal vendetta with you? If not, I suggest you let them go."  
The Sword blades remained pointed at Cecil and Kain's throats.  
The frozen man suddenly shattered into a million pieces.  
"Don't tork me off," Rorunar advised.  
"Hm. Am I supposed to be frightened?" the Archer inquired, sarcastically.  
"Well, yes, you are. Aren't you?"  
"No!"  
"Oh." Rorunar blinked his deep blue eyes, looking confused. "Tell me, exactly what is this personal vendetta you have against those two lovable hooligans?"  
The Archer sniffed.  
"None of your business. Now step aside, before we slice their throats."  
"Ah, but if you do that, you'll have lost your bargaining posture altogether."  
"Fine. We'll only kill one of them."  
Rorunar shook his head.  
"So weak . . . so foolish . . . "  
The two who were holding Cecil and Kain at Sword point froze up into two figures of ice, their Swords crystallizing as well. And the ropes binding them mysteriously vaporized.  
Rorunar raised his eyebrows.  
"C'mon, you two. Bedtime. You don't know what sorts of strange people lurk around here at night," he told them, glaring at the Archer, who was shaking with fury.  
Kain almost started laughing, but thought better of it.  
"Run," Rorunar ordered the Archer. "Run away, and never return."  
The Archer didn't move.  
Rorunar sighed, and the two new iceblocks also shattered as the first had.  
"Why are you being so stupid?!" he demanded.  
For a moment, it looked like the Archer was going to glare at them all night, but then a shout was heard from inside the Castle Gate.  
He spat out a garbled order, and the remaining group of attackers all but vanished into the night air just before Baigan and the King's Guard arrived on the scene, drawn by the sounds of battle.  
Rorunar threw a frantic gaze between Cecil and Kain for a moment, then grinned slightly.  
Kain knew what the grin meant. They'd planned for this situation before . . . hopefully Cecil would play along . . .  
"Fine!" he snapped at Cecil, who took a startled step away, looking at him like he was crazy. "You win - but next time your pals from the King won't be around to save your sorry butt!!"  
"Huh?" Cecil exclaimed.  
Kain, facing away from the Guards, grinned, trying to convey that everything was all right.  
"Kain," Rorunar said in a dejected tone, "why do you keep doing this to me? As if you haven't already caused enough trouble . . . "  
"What's going on here?" Baigan insisted, directing a condescending look to the two Dragoons.  
Rorunar flailed his arms in a helpless manner.  
"Nothing serious . . . no harm came to the City . . . or them," he replied in a tone that suggested nervous relief.  
Baigan looked back and forth between Cecil and Kain, confused.  
"What exactly happened here?" he repeated, looking a little uncertain.  
Cecil opened his mouth to say something, but Kain cut him off.  
"He started it!!!" he snapped, pointing at Cecil.  
Cecil looked utterly dejected.  
"What?!"  
"Shut up," Baigan snapped at Kain, who sulked in response. "You," he said, gesturing to Cecil, "come with me."  
Cecil followed as he turned and, with the rest of the Guard, re-entered the Castle, looking as bewildered as Kain had ever seen him. He threw a look over his shoulder, and both Kain and Rorunar flashed an OK signal.  
Cecil still looked confused, but continued on.  
"I'm gonna have a hard time explaining this to him later," Kain remarked to Rorunar as the Gate closed behind them.  
"I just hope the King doesn't ask the wrong questions," Rorunar replied.  
For a moment, the two Dragoons made no further comment. Rather, they just stood there, staring at the gate which had been slammed a moment ago, one in his blue armor, and the other in a dark, golden color.  
Rorunar was just a dark kind of person. Very dark. But only when he wanted to be.  
Kain ground his teeth.  
"Why do you think they took him in? By all logic, Baigan holds me responsible for causing an uproar, why'd he take Cecil?"  
After all - the King already hated Kain. If he took the blame for the "incident", then no one should be any worse off than they were already.  
"I have an idea," Rorunar sighed. "And I doubt Cecil's going to get a choice about it."  
He shook his head and headed back into the Barracks, where quite a large group was congregated at the windows. At one sour look, they all vanished.  
"What do you mean?" Kain asked, matching his stride.  
Rorunar glanced at him.  
"Nothing yet. Let's just wait and see."  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(The Dark Knight - Yet Another Lunar Encounter)  
  
Cecil was, in two words, Dejected and Confused. ("and" doesn't count as a word in there, Fussy!)  
He didn't know what was going on. He didn't understand why Kain and Rorunar had apparently turned on him when the Guard had arrived. Yet they seemed to feel the whole situation was in check.  
Didn't they realize that their actions were going to bring down even more wrath on the Dragoons?  
For centuries or longer, in all of Baron's history, the Dragoons had been honored and respected. This was the first time that they'd ever been held in such contempt, merely because every now and then they felt they must disobey and order or two that they felt was unlawful.  
The King was an egotistical jerk. Cecil now knew that for a fact. And the fact that the Dragoons alone held the right to waive an order made him angry. So he rallied everyone else against them.  
So why were they making things worse? Why didn't they just explain to Baigan what had really happened? Why had they, by placing the blame on him, brought blame upon themselves?  
Of course, if they'd done that, then the three of them would be in trouble, because it was probably a group of Baigan's men who had assaulted them.  
How had he, Cecil, managed to grow so passive in the service of Knighthood? How had it happened that, just a year before, he was actually beginning to feel a grudge against the Dragoons himself? Heck, he'd been one once! Now he was allowing himself to be swayed by propaganda, and if not for Cid's unusual request for assignment that had brought him away from his peers, and of course, the assault on Veronica, he may have continued to be swayed until -  
"Cecil!" Baigan snapped, and he realized that he'd been spoken to.  
"Sir?" he replied automatically, noticing for the first time that he was standing in the Throne Room. Before the King.  
Baigan shook his head slightly.  
"He's the one, Your Majesty," he told the King, pointing at him. "He was trained as a Dragoon, then switched to Knighthood."  
"I see." The King leaned forward and nodded thoughtfully. "What made you change, young Knight?"  
Your threat, you idiot.  
"Your request after so large a portion of our forces was claimed in battle," he said out loud.  
The King nodded.  
"I've been told that you've displayed great loyalty."  
"Have I?"  
Cecil had no clue what was going on.  
"And that you're an amazing fighter. And so I have a new option for you."  
"Sir?"  
"You have been selected to pilot the Airship once completed. Now, it would seem a little strange for our greatest weapon to be manned by a mere Knight, would it not?"  
"Sir - "  
"And so, at Baigan's suggestion and my own consideration, I have decided to bestow upon you the rank of Dark Knight."  
"Sir?!?!"  
It was all he could do to keep from falling over.  
The Dark Knights - there hadn't been any in the Kingdom for years! They were like the King's personal Mafia! The strongest fighters, the meanest ones, the ones who were sent on the most dangerous missions, who were feared by almost everybody, and respected by even those who didn't fear them -   
The counterparts of the Dragon Knights of long ago - the original Order of Dragoons, the Elite force of the Kingdom. The Dark Knights had been able to match their predecessors in nearly every aspect - strength, skill, and brute power. Both had a daunting special attack - the Jump, and the Dark Wave. Originally the premiere enemy of Baron - finally forced into submission long ago and taken under the orders of the King, where they served for nearly two centuries straight. The Dragoons had been able to outmatch them in only one area: Spirit.  
A great honor.  
And he would be directly under the King's thumb.  
"Sir, I - "  
"Kneel, Sir Cecil."  
"But I - "  
"Kneel, Cecil!" Baigan emphasized.  
Cecil knew that the moment he knelt, it was all over.  
"But I - "  
"Don't contradict the King!"  
"But - "  
"Is there a problem?" the King cut in, looking mildly concerned.  
Cecil thought frantically. What could he say? How could he keep from accepting this fate?  
"Sir, I'm - well, I'm only eight-teen years old! Surely there're others more qualified - "  
"Not really, no."  
"But . . . Your Majesty, if I may, exactly what did I do to earn this honor?" Cecil blurted, still feeling so boggled by everything that had happened that night that nothing was becoming clear in any way, shape, or form.  
The King smiled.  
"Well, Cecil, your fighting skills are spectacular, or so I'm told."  
"Sir, there are many more spectacular fighters than I. I'm only at level 12!"  
"You are familiar with the Jumping technique, which no Knight before has ever known - "  
"Sir, one of the reasons I was suggested for transferring to Knighthood when there was the need was because my Jump was always less than satisfactory."  
"But you did change. That shows extreme loyalty to the Kingdom. You would renounce the rebel group known as Dragoons and sign with the Kingdom. Good choice."  
"But Sir!!" poor Cecil exclaimed. "They're not rebels! They're every bit as loyal to the Kingdom as I am - and they're willing to do what it takes to ensure the safety of the Kingdom, even if it happens to be against your orders!"  
"Then what would you call that incident outside just now?" Baigan cut in. "It struck me that you and a Dragoon faced off on something. Kain, I believe it was. Isn't he a close friend of yours?"  
"Well . . . " No use denying it. "Yes, Sir."  
"And has been for a long time."  
Cecil nodded, swallowing nervously. He didn't like where this was going.  
"Yet you were willing to face against him to defend the honor of the King. Is that it?"  
And Cecil could see in Baigan's eyes that if he denied it, he would regret it. And he knew in that moment that it was Baigan who had ordered that attack on him and Kain. If he denied his supposed act of bravery, it would cause more repercussions that he could imagine.  
"Y . . . " Oh, crud, Kain, what am I getting myself into?! What are you two planning?! "Yes, Sir." I hope this was part of your scheme . . .  
The King smiled again.  
"Kneel," Baigan ordered in a stern tone. "His Majesty is very gracious, and you should accept his judgment, and the honor which he bestows upon you." He glared at the young Knight. "So kneel. Now."  
The King raised his sword.  
Cecil, dazed by all that was happening and their fast-talking, felt his knees give way beneath him.  
Placing his sword on one shoulder, then the other, the King officially stole what freedom Cecil had left.  
"I dub thee, Sir Cecil, Dark Knight of Baron, to serve the King and the Kingdom as ordered until death or discharge. You may rise."  
Cecil couldn't. He just knelt there, feeling numb.  
Rorunar . . . don't hate me for this . . .  
Members of the King's Guard then entered, carrying with them his new articles - Shadow Armor, Shadow Shield, Shadow Sword -   
His mind froze, and he stared defiantly at the floor, as if by will alone he could make it so that this night had never happened.  
"You will now reside in the Castle's left tower, as is the custom for one of your rank. By tomorrow noon, you are to be moved in and ready for assignment."  
A weak pang rang through Cecil.  
"Assignment?!" he blurbed. "But - but - Your Majesty, what about the Airships?!"  
The King paused to consider.  
"Yes, of course. Still, your affairs are to be in order by tomorrow, noon. Dismissed."  
Cecil rose to his feet and accepted his new articles with numb despair.   
And he could have sworn that Baigan had a triumphant glint in his eye.  
  
When he finally got out of that hateful place, he bolted straight for Sir Rorunar's office.  
Rorunar and Kain were both waiting for him.  
For a moment, as he entered and stared at them both in silence, he wondered about the fate of himself and his old friend. Kain, only one year older than he, seemed to be almost like a shadow to one of the most revered (if royally despised) fighters in the Kingdom. More so, in fact. Apprenticing and the like was not such a common practice among Dragoons as it was with Knights, and Rorunar had never been known to take one on, until now. (Really, although he had the absolute loyalty and devotion of all those under him, very few knew him well. Rorunar was about as introverted as they came - it seemed sometimes that he trusted no one at all.) Kain, of all people, had been selected as his apprentice and taken under his wing for some unknown purpose, while he himself, only eight-teen, was -   
"They made me a Dark Knight," he sighed, weakly collapsing into a chair just inside the door.  
Odd, there had never been a chair there before. The room had always just had the bare essentials . . .  
Sir Rorunar must've planned that he'd be feeling weak.  
So they had known . . .  
Rorunar sighed.  
"I thought as much . . . I knew it was only a matter of time before they tried."  
Kain, however, rushed to his side in shock.  
"A Dark Knight?!?! You?!?! But . . . how?! Why?!"  
"You tell me!!" Cecil snapped. "I don't get it!! What happened?! Why did you both turn on me back there?! I didn't know what to think, what to say - "  
"Cecil, shut your mouth and take a deep breath," Rorunar advised in his offhand way, although he seemed deeply concerned by this turn of events. "Baigan was looking for a goat. He has been for some time, but if we'd reported exactly what had taken place, he wouldn't have rested until the two of you were found dead. And there's a good chance he may keep that plan with the two of us," and he gestured toward Kain, who blinked at him but didn't seem alarmed. "We're Dragoons, and therefore seen as a threat to the Royal Authority. You, though, you still have a chance, Cecil. We have to keep you in the King's good graces, or it may be your life. Now, as a Knight, there was a lot of potential good you could do for everyone as your position matured. Now, I'm not so sure. The Dark Knights have traditionally been dark folk . . . but maybe there's still some good you can do. Odd . . . you as a Dark Knight . . . very odd . . . Do you understand, though, Cecil? We're doing our best to protect you - to keep you out of this rotten situation the King has for us Dragoons. You have no reason to be involved, and we don't intend for you to become so."  
Cecil felt himself shaking. He stared at his hands, picturing himself clad in the black armor bestowed upon him. The very thought made him sick.  
"To serve the King and the Kingdom as ordered until death or discharge . . . " he whispered. "Do you realize, Sir Rorunar, exactly what that means?"  
Rorunar nodded, blinking quite calmly.  
"It means that you must obey his every command for the rest of your life, and quite likely, you're going to be set against us sometime in the near future."  
Cecil felt even sicker.  
"But I can't do that."  
"Leave it to us, Cecil," Rorunar told him in a low tone, one that almost seemed comforting.  
But not just, not now.  
"Leave it to you? Just like leaving all this to you got me into this?!?!"  
Kain blinked, startled by the venom directed to Rorunar.  
Rorunar, on the other hand, seemed to have expected it, and replied as he always did: calmly and excruciatingly placatingly.  
"You'd have been gotten into it anyway. Why do you think Baigan really came out tonight? It wasn't to break up some fight, I'll tell you that! He's been waiting to reel you into his grasp. But it'll be better for you that it happens with the King still on your side than not."  
Cecil shook his head.  
"I want out of all this," he sighed in a quavering voice. "I just want . . . I want to be an Accountant!!!"  
He's going to set me against them - and I have to obey - I don't have any choice anymore but to do exactly whatever that stupid idiot of a King tells me . . . even if he tells me to help obliterate the Dragoons . . .   
He would now be serving with the same men who had attacked him, he realized. Serving with a group of thugs and murderers who burned houses with women trapped inside -   
Serving with brainless minions of ambition who would do whatever it took to see a fighter dishonored for not taking the life of a 16 year old boy -  
Serving with those who would see everything he cared about destroyed -   
Cecil wasn't sure what was happening. The room was spinning, but it wasn't. He was passing out, but he was still awake. He was crying vulgar obscenities at the top of his lungs, but he was still staring at the floor with a blank, vacant expression. What was happening? Who was he, anyway? What was he doing here?  
What was the strange tingling that suddenly ran up his spine and rang throughout his body -   
What was it that dragged him out of the Barracks and into the streets, despite Kain's attempts to hold him still?  
What was it that forced him into unconsciousness on that one night, every year, when the two moons were in perfect eclipse?  
What was it that took an innocent attempt to help a friend and turned it into the service of a heartless man with a crown who would just as well see him dead as his personal agent?  
And the last thought to enter his mind as unconsciousness became complete.  
Why is my hair purple?  
  



	10. The rest of the last chapter - it was to...

  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Mission of KluYa)  
  
It was far into the night. Her two children were asleep, worn out by overwhelming emotions from events of the day.  
Julia herself sat, rocking in her chair sadly, staring down with her blank eyes into her hands.  
"I'm sorry, Julia," Cid said again, wishing, just wishing, that there were something he could do. He remembered well the day her first husband had died - that bout with the Dragon had claimed his life shortly after their daughter's first birthday. KluYa and he had defeated the Dragon, all right, but left Julia widowed and his daughter fatherless. Later was the incident with Phil, the Dragoon, father of her second child, who was killed shortly after his birth in the war. Now, all these years later, it was the same story.  
Abraham was killed in battle, leaving her alone once again, save her two children, Veronica and Kain.  
"There's nothing anyone could've done," she sighed. "Not as long as these foolish wars continue . . . and goodness, Kain wants to join the Guard just like his father . . . stepfather . . . "  
She looked up, and while Cid knew she couldn't see, he could still feel her gaze boring through him.  
"Cid, I can't bear to lose another to the Kingdom. This is the third time! There has to be another way."  
"Not as long as things continue the way they are," he replied sadly. "The wars won't end, and we won't stop losing people. Not until either one Kingdom is killed off completely, or the rulers finally find some sense."  
"The latter won't be happening anytime soon," she snapped with uncharacteristic fury. "And it would be no good for the former. Doesn't anyone realize that they must be hurting just as badly as we are?! Why is it that we continue with this pointless slaughter . . . "  
"Julia, quiet down. You'll wake the children."  
Julia was quiet for a long moment.  
"My daughter," she finally said after a long interlude of silence, "wants to be an Engineer."  
Cid, in spite of himself, chortled.  
"Where'd she get an idea like that?"  
Julia shrugged.  
"I don't know. But I think . . . I think that from watching her study, she might be good at it. I know girls can't be Engineers, Cid, but if she ever comes to the nerve to inquire of you, could you please, just hear her out? Test her, do whatever it is you do, and see if she isn't as good as any man in your staff?"  
Cid shrugged.  
"Sure . . . I guess. It's not normal practice, but . . . "  
"Normal practice? What is that, anyway?"  
Cid frowned.  
"What do you mean?"  
Julia smiled.  
"It's fading from our society so fast . . . soon the day will come when nothing's normal again." She sighed. "Did you ever wonder what the evil was?"  
"KluYa's evil?"  
"Yes. He never would say what it was, exactly, did he?"  
"No. He said he didn't want to endanger me with the knowledge."  
"Hm. I just wonder . . . how can we fight it if we don't know it when we see it?"  
Cid shrugged again.  
"I guess we just have to hope we'll recognize it."  
"But evil can take on so many faces . . . why, it could manifest in any one of us. It may take over the minds of one of my children, even. It could be anything. And yet we worry about the evil KluYa warned us about, while there's perhaps something even more evil already among us . . . "  
"KluYa was . . . well, I can't say what he was. He was my friend, I'll give him that. But when he got on the thing with the evil he was chasing . . . I don't know. I could never understand him then. So I doubt I'll be able to understand it when it, whatever it is, comes. All I can do is what I feel is right, and if that means I fight, I'll fight."  
"Did you ever wonder if KluYa was really who he said he was?"  
"Who he said he was? The problem was, he'd never say who he was!"  
"No, I mean, if perhaps, he were the evil, and he was warning us away from whatever might be able to save us . . . "  
Cid frowned steadily, although he knew she couldn't see it.  
"Julia, it's possible. But I won't believe it. KluYa was a good man. He took time out of his mission, whatever it was, to help us. And I think that cost him everything. And I know he didn't want to leave this burden on his children. He also seemed to know what was coming, though. He knew he wouldn't be able to win, and left us in a setup where maybe, just maybe, we could. I, as his friend, trust in what he said. If you want to think otherwise, I can't stop you, but I'll never believe he had any malicious intent towards us."  
Julia shook her head.  
"Nor do I. But I can't help but wonder, at times . . . if his children . . . "  
"Do you know anything about them?" Cid suddenly inquired, hoping.  
"I can't say. Maybe."  
"You say that every time."  
"Yes. I can't be certain."  
Cid sighed.  
"Well . . . whenever and if you ever find out anything, let me know, okay?"  
She nodded.  
"If ever I know for sure, that I've found the sons of KluYa, I will tell you."  
  
)---------- Kain -----------(  
(Selling Out?)  
  
"So," Aromuth asked Kain on one of their return trips from a battle shortly after Cecil's reassignment, "what's the deal with Cecil? He sold out yet?"  
Kain turned and raised one eyebrow at him in a menacing manner, somehow feeling that he was in a completely different league than his peers now. Too many things set them apart . . .  
"What do you mean?" he inquired sharply.  
Aromuth shrugged.  
"C'mon. A Dark Knight? Sure, Kain, we all used to be one happy group, but it's only a matter of time before he's so twisted around the King's finger - "  
Kain turned away, shaking his head. He wasn't listening to this. It wasn't going to happen. Not to Cecil.  
He'd never sell out. Not to the King.  
"Kain, you may not want to hear it, but it's bound to happen!!" Aromuth exclaimed. "Deal with it! He's not the same guy we used to know!"  
"And just how do you know that?" Kain snapped in a low tone. "Cecil is no idiot. He knows they're trying to get him to sell out. He's known it for a long time. But he's still Cecil. Just the way he always was. Just with . . . black armor."  
Aromuth shook his head.  
"Didn't he face off at you? Isn't that how he landed the position?"  
That ran right through Kain's heart, as he realized that as long as there was a danger, that had to be the story. Cecil had attacked him. Yeah . . . that's what happened . . .  
"Didn't he?" Aromuth suddenly asked for clarification, as if something in Kain's face had shown that this was not the case.  
Kain sighed.  
"Wonder all you like. Believe what you can. Accept only what you must," he replied, voicing one of Rorunar's odd common phrases.  
Aromuth looked at him oddly, but said nothing.  
Kain said nothing as well. From their class of seven, only he and Aromuth remained, the others, like Cecil, having been transferred against their will to other vocations. The thought entered his mind that maybe it was only a matter of time before Cecil sold out . . .  
Naw. Not Cecil. He'd never sell out.  
  
The ship docked and they made their way back into Baron.  
As soon as he entered the City Gates, someone grabbed his arm and, with remarkable strength, hauled him away from the others.  
"Kain!!!"  
It was Veronica.  
"Hi!" he greeted. "Euh - can we talk later? I want to clean up first - "  
"No time!!" she admonished with a grin. "It's happening! It's finally happening!!!"  
Kain frowned.  
"What?"  
Veronica burst into giddy laughter.  
"They're going to launch the Airship!"  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Dawn)  
  
"Ready for this, Cecil?" Cid inquired in a tense voice.  
The King had ordered launch today because he knew the Airship was completed. Although Cid would have preferred it if Sir Rorunar had been there to oversee, he knew that it was now or never.  
Cecil shrugged self-consciously. He would have preferred Rorunar's presence as well. It would have placed less of the stress on himself. Someone else could've taken some of the stress, and between them, neither would've felt too stressed out . . .  
But he could do it. He was sure of it.  
Really.   
He could do it.  
Really.  
So why did he feel as if he were about to be sick?  
"Then here goes," Cid murmured, dragging him to the wheel. "Go on - start the thing!"  
Cecil shook himself fully aware.  
Everything was ready. They were just waiting for him to give the order.  
"Cid," he said in a very, very low voice. "Shouldn't you?"  
Cid glared at him.  
"Eh?"  
"It's your Airship. Shouldn't you give the order this first time?"  
Cid chewed on his bottom lip for a long moment. Then he turned away.  
"Start the propellers!!" he bellowed.  
At his command, they whirred to action. Faster and faster, until slowly, they could feel themselves beginning to part with the ground . . .   
"Disengage the supports!" Cecil called, taking control of the wheel. "And bring us up, full power!!" He gritted his teeth. Here it came -   
A sudden rush of air nearly overwhelmed everyone on board as Dawn shot straight up into the air.  
"K-k-k-geez!! That's high enough, stop!!!!!" he yelled a moment later.  
They froze to an abrupt halt.  
"Cheese . . . " Cecil exhaled sharply. For all his strong stomach, he was feeling queasy by the sudden motions.  
"Oh, crud," he heard Cid say.   
Turning, he saw the Engineer clinging to the railing near him.  
"C'mere, Cecil," he then said.  
Cecil, swallowing nervously, went over to him.  
And looked down.  
They were so high . . . in that one second of upward motion, they'd gone so high . . .  
"We're high . . . " he mumbled, trying to focus on the streets of the city so far below them. The people looked like ants . . .  
"You getting this, Cecil?" Cid suddenly snapped. "It works! The Airship! It works, and we're launched and up without a single explosion . . . kid, we did it!!"  
Cecil just stared at the ground below, his jaw hanging open.  
Tearing his eyes away from Baron below, he looked out over the land, over to the horizon. The mountains on one end, the ocean on another . . .  
In all the voyages he'd taken to battle, he'd never once imagined that the world was so . . . big!  
One moment of perfect beauty.  
"That's it," Cid declared. "I'm growing a beard!"  
Cecil frowned and looked at him.  
"Huh?"  
Cid, seeing his expression, burst out laughing.  
"Well heck, gotta do something to signify this occasion!"  
Cecil shook his head.  
"You? Cid? With a beard? Naw, I can't see it."  
Cid grinned.  
"Then let's try for something you can see." He gestured back to the wheel. "Let's just see what this sucker can do!"  
An odd wave of elation passed over Cecil at the suggestion.  
Here, at his fingertips, was the means by which to do . . . whatever in the world he could ever want.  
Yeah . . . let's just see exactly what it can do.  
So he took his place back at the wheel of the Airship Dawn.  
"Hanging on?" he asked Cid with a grin, oblivious to the airsick shock of the other crewmembers.  
"Most definitely with you at the wheel, kid!"  
Laughing, Cecil nodded at one of the navigators.  
And they took off at a blinding speed not seen on their planet for thousands of years.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Take Over the World)  
  
Kain and Veronica stood in shock as the Dawn took off, speeding away at a dazzling pace.  
"Crud - ?!" was the only thing that could come out of his mouth.  
Rorunar bounced up beside him.  
"Well well - so they did it, did they?" He burst out laughing. "If only I'd been there to see the airsick look on that old fool's face - "  
"Oh, Cid's nowhere near even a fifth of your age!" Veronica reminded him in a snippy tone.  
That only made him laugh harder.  
Kain ignored their joviality. For some reason, this whole business suddenly struck a sour note in him.  
Cecil was now a Dark Knight. Under the King's thumb. And he was now in charge of this. The Airship which, he suddenly realized, could easily be turned into a dauntless killing machine.  
And he wasn't sure he liked where this was going.  
Turning toward the Castle, he could see over the Wall where the King and Baigan stood watching the Airship as well.  
He really didn't like where this was going.  
  
Later, after the sun was down and he finally managed to find Cecil, he tried to convince himself that no bad would come of this.  
"What was it like?" he asked Cecil, who looked a little pale from the high altitude, but was as hyper-active as he'd ever seen him.  
"Like?!" Cecil repeated. "Like, it's really high up there!!! Kain, you wouldn't believe it until you see it - the world is so big!"  
Kain blinked. Flying seemed to have a similar effect on his friend as did nerve gas.  
"Big?"  
"Big! Like, we know it's big, but it's really big! You're up there, and you can see for miles and miles . . . I could see my house from up there!"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah! And in just about a half hour, we were over Mysidia, and we even got to the point where we could see Damcyan! In just the few hours we were up there!!!!!"  
Kain exhaled deeply. That was pretty amazing. The journey to Damcyan could take weeks, and with the way monsters were appearing more and more, few dared make the journey any longer.  
"And a little village. I don't know what it was, but I'm gonna find out. Kain, it was so awesome!" He paused at a thought. "And Cid's going to grow a beard."  
"What?!" That one caught him off guard.  
Cecil laughed at his reaction.  
"Yeah, that's about what I said."  
"Cid? With a beard? No way, I can't see it."  
"Me either, but he's all set to go through with it."  
"His wife's gonna have a heart attack."  
"She just might."  
"So what - um - what do you think the King's gonna do with the Airship, now that it works?"  
Cecil sobered up instantly and looked around to make sure no one was listening.  
"I don't know," he said in a low tone, "but with all that power, man, you could probably take over the world."  
At first, Kain felt like laughing at that statement, but a quick look at Cecil's face said that he was completely serious.  
Now he really didn't like where all this was going.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Redwings)  
  
Cecil stood, at attention, in the Throne Room, as the King paced back and forth.  
"Tell me, Cecil," he said, after pacing for about twenty minutes without any explanation as to why Cecil had been summoned, "what is your opinion of the crew of the Redwings?"  
The Redwings. That's what they were called now. In a little over a year, since the successful takeoff of the Dawn, the other four contracted Airships had been constructed. Apparently, more support was with the project now, because Cid's staff had suddenly (and without his own knowledge) almost quadrupled overnight.  
Baron now had an air force. A fleet of five gleaming red Airships - the Dawn, the Horizon, the Bounty, the Les Cheveux, and the Arrow. All under Cecil's command, although he was no longer the only pilot. Five others had been instructed at the King's orders, apparently so that Cecil himself could concentrate on commanding, not on flying.  
He wasn't sure he liked that. He preferred to be actually controlling the vessel, not just giving orders, but he took what he could.  
At least the orders hadn't really been much as of yet.  
But his opinion of the crew?  
"They're cool," he replied absently.  
"What?"  
"Euh - their performance is satisfactory, Your Majesty," he quickly corrected. "We're ready to go."  
"Good," the King affirmed with an enthusiastic nod. "Well then, I think perhaps it's time we tested them in an assault position."  
"Excuse me?"  
"I want to see you blow something up."  
"Oh." Cecil wasn't sure he liked that, either. Of course, though, it made sense. After all, if they were to use these Airships to end the war, then they'd have to be used offensively . . . "What do you want us to . . . euh . . . blow up?"  
The King grabbed him by the arm and moved him to a table set up in a corner of the room.   
"Here's our map of the world as we see it," he explained. "We're here." He pointed at a spot on the map. "I want you to go to about . . . here," and he pointed at another. "About thirty clicks west of the Kingdom. Just . . . take out the whole area."  
Cecil blinked. It seemed harmless enough.  
"Yes, Your Majesty," he conceded.  
  
"So that's the deal," he told Kain later that evening. "Tomorrow, he wants us to go blow up some forest. Odd, but I guess he wants to see what we can do."  
Kain frowned.  
"Has it struck you that the King has been acting a little odd lately?"  
Cecil shuddered.  
"Yes. It's strange - he's no longer eating out of Baigan's hand. It actually seems the other way around, all of a sudden."  
"All of a sudden," Kain repeated. "That's why it seems so strange. I mean, maybe over time he may have developed some common sense, but just BANG, suddenly he takes charge . . . it's odd, you're right. Watch your step."  
Cecil grinned.  
"How can I watch my step when I'm flying?"  
Kain shook his head.  
"Cecil, that was low."  
"I know," he replied, shrugging. "Had to say something. In any case, though, this is a strange assignment. He wants Baigan to go along."  
Kain raised an eyebrow.  
"Why?"  
"I don't know. To supervise, I guess. The King wanted to know my thoughts on the crew - maybe he wants a second opinion on their abilities."  
"Or yours."  
Cecil crossed his arms.  
"Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind."  
Kain nodded.  
"I won't. Watch your step, whether you're on the ground or not."  
Cecil nodded, sensing Kain's concern, and sharing it himself.  
"I do." A wave of frustration welled up within him. "I have to watch my step everywhere I go, nowadays. You know, just wearing the armor of a Dark Knight makes everyone so wary . . . it's like, people I've known all my life are suddenly afraid of me."  
"They have reason to be," Kain reminded him. "They know that a Dark Knight follows the King's orders no matter what, and has a mess of slightly erratic Powers of Darkness at his disposal. And no one knows what to think of the King anymore."  
Cecil shuddered.  
"Do you have to constantly remind me about that?" he snapped in a low voice. "I know I have to listen to him . . . but I'm none too happy about it."  
Kain frowned slightly, as if just catching on to his discomfort.  
"Well, I imagine you're not. Just remember, I'm in the same boat, and disgraced to boot."  
Of course.  
"I know. So what would you do, if say, you were ordered to face off against the other Dragoons?"  
For a long, long moment, Kain made no reply.  
"I guess . . . " he finally murmured, "I'd just have to wing it." A shudder ran through his body. "You know . . . see exactly what I could get away with . . . see if Sir Rorunar already had a plan for escape of the situation . . . you never know. Not until you're there."  
Somehow, Cecil felt that this was not going to suffice as advice.  
"But what can I do?" he asked into the air. "I mean . . . I'm just a Dark Knight."  
Kain shook his head with a light grin.  
"No way, Cecil," he told him. "You're more than that - you're a Dark Knight who's got the Dragoons on your side."  
"But for how long?!"  
Considering that, Kain smirked.  
"Well, man, rather die by our hands, or the King's?"  
"Now that, that was not even funny, Kain."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Selling Out!)  
  
"Yes, I'd heard that the Airships were to be tested for offensive capabilities," Rorunar nodded when Kain filled him in on what Cecil had said. "The sooner that's done, I suppose, the sooner we can use the Redwings for what their design intended. To stop this stupid war."  
Kain hopped up and sat on one edge of his master's desk.  
"Stupid war?" he jibed. "Without it, you'd be out of a job, Sir."  
Rorunar feigned pain.  
"You wound me, boy," he whined. "Why, I'm indispensable to the Kingdom! It's you who should be worried."  
"Oh, I am. Believe me, every day, every moment, I live in total fear of His Majesty, and of losing favor with the Throne."  
"I'm sure you do."  
" 'Believe what you can.' "  
"Shut up, Kain!" Rorunar snapped with a grin. "Don't go quoting me to me!"  
"Sorry, Sir, it'll never happen again, Sir."  
Rorunar waggled a finger at him.  
"You know, son of Phil, you've developed quite an attitude."  
Kain widened his eyes in shock.  
"I? An attitude? I've developed nothing of the sort, Sir, I've just expanded what was already there."  
"That you have. And what else have you expanded?"  
"Huh?"  
"Your mother was an Empath, wasn't she?"  
Kain was caught so off guard by the question that he fell off the desk.  
Rorunar leaned over and glared at him.  
"Well?"  
"Y-yes, I guess so," he replied, pulling himself to an upright position. "I mean, I . . . well . . . yeah, I guess so."  
"But she was never open about it to you?"  
"No, Sir."  
"Did she ever mention it at all?"  
"No, Sir."  
"Then how do you know about it?"  
"Well, I spied on her, Sir."  
"Of course."  
"Sir, how do you know about that?" Kain inquired, feeling oddly violated.  
"She told me. But you didn't know me then." Rorunar frowned. "Have you ever noticed any indication of inheriting her abilities?"  
"What, am I Empathic?"  
"Yes, that's what I mean."  
"No, not that I know of."  
"You don't sometimes get very strange feelings about things?"  
"Well, yeah, but no stranger than any other feelings people get, I suppose."  
"You suppose."  
"Yes, I suppose."  
"And do you have any feeling on Cecil's mission tomorrow?"  
"Um . . . " Kain, on impulse, jammed his eyes shut and tried to sense something. Futile. "No, Sir."  
"Hm." Rorunar leaned back in his chair. "But you don't like where any of this Airship business is going, I know. I don't think you realize how obvious you've been about it at times."  
"It worries me the amount of power at Baron's disposal!" Kain honestly exclaimed. "I mean, if the King's really taking charge of the Kingdom finally, and we all know what an idiot he is, who knows what may happen?!"  
"Who indeed. Kain, you received a special set of orders today while you were out."  
Kain frowned.  
"And?"  
"You're to report to the King tomorrow morning. Report alone."  
Kain frowned even deeper.  
"Why?"  
Rorunar shook his head slowly.  
"I couldn't begin to tell you, my friend," he admitted, "but while you may be the latent Empath here, I'll say that I have a very, very, very bad feeling about the whole thing."  
He was silent for a time, and so was Kain.  
If the King was planning something, and he was at the Castle, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Not that he could anyway, because of his forced loyalty to the King, though. Which made it odd. They must have worried that whatever was going to happen, it would be enough to make him break that, even if it meant being completely disgraced, hunted down, and executed.  
Should this be the case, he wasn't sure he should be anywhere but beside Sir Rorunar the next day, whatever happened.  
"What should I do?" he asked into the silence.  
Rorunar glanced at him briefly, then stared at a document on his desk.  
"Do what you must, Kain. Follow your orders. Don't worry about us."  
Kain bit his bottom lip.  
"Too late. I am worried."  
Rorunar grinned.  
"This is a very trying time for us, Kain," he told him. "But we can't afford to have you beheaded for treason. You're too valuable. Do as the King says."  
"Oh, so now I'm valuable."  
"In a sense. In another sense, you're a bigheaded idiot. I'm just feeling nice at the moment."  
"Yes, Sir! One bigheaded idiot, reporting!"  
"Kain, get out of here and go to sleep."  
"Yes, Sir!"  
And if Kain sensed an odd note of finality in Rorunar's expression, he refused to dwell on it just then.  
  
"Catch you later!" Cecil called at his departure, taking off for Dawn, the flagship of the Redwings.  
"Good luck!" Kain yelled after him. Then, still feeling uneasy, he headed for the Castle.  
"Ah, Dragoon Kain," the King greeted as he entered the Throne Room. "Leave us," he snapped at the Guards, who bowed and backed out, closing the door behind them.  
"Reporting as ordered, Your Majesty," Kain greeted back in a reserved tone he used only on belligerent monarchs.  
"At ease," the King told him in a steady tone. "I suppose you're wondering what all this is about. Why you're here. Why you happen to be here at this exact moment, when Cecil has taken the Redwings off on what they believe to be a testing mission for the Airships' offensive abilities."  
Instantly, Kain felt himself go rigid.  
"What they believe to be?" he repeated in a demanding tone, one that would have made any citizen and most soldiers shrink back.  
The King was, however, none of the above.  
"Exactly." He held Kain's gaze for a moment, and in that moment, Kain felt his blood run cold. "Also, at this exact moment, a decoy we have planted in the Dragoon army is carrying out his own orders, bringing out your entire force on one final mission that even Sir Rorunar wouldn't be able to resist. I know his weaknesses. I know what will bring him out in the open. And young Aromuth will serve as the perfect bait for what lies in store."  
Kain felt his hand itching towards his Lance, but forced himself to remain still.  
"And what lies in store?" he hissed in a tone barely above a whisper.  
The King laughed.  
"I like you, Kain," he complimented in a jovial tone. "You don't beat around the bush, unlike some others. That's one of the reasons I'm keeping you alive. The other is, of course, the simple fact that you are no threat to me. None at all. And I like knowing that."  
"Your Majesty - "  
"Now now, is that any tone with which to address your sovereign? Ask yourself that, Dragoon, while I consider just how miserable to make the rest of your life."  
"What - "  
"It should take your comrades, aided by your master's remarkable talents, a few more minutes to reach the intended site. At that moment, young Aromuth will signal to Baigan, who will be waiting above in the Dawn. Then all that will remain will be for him to have your dear friend Cecil carry out the test. And obliterate your kind at last, and let me have some peace at night."  
Kain, shaking with fury, forced himself to try and breathe normally.  
"Your Majesty," he said in a low tone, "don't do this. We mean you no harm. We never have. We serve the Kingdom."  
"They serve themselves, and you serve me, and don't forget that."  
He drilled his fists into his sides to keep from attacking this pitiful figure they called a King.  
"It won't happen," he hissed in an undertone.  
"Oh, yes it will," the King assured him. "There's no one to stand in my way."  
"Yes there is."  
"Who? You mean Cecil? Don't count on him saving the day, my young friend. He is a Dark Knight. Sworn to my service. When my orders are relayed to him, he will have no choice but to obey."  
"He won't do it!!" Kain yelled. After all, why was he restraining himself? He whipped out his Lance and flew at the King.  
"GUARDS!" he yelled.  
The Guards instantly entered and grabbed him before he could reach the royal fool.  
"He won't do it!!!" he yelled again. "Cecil won't do it!! He'd never turn against his own kind!!!"  
"But he's not one of your kind any longer," the King reminded him with a smile. "He's one of mine, now."  
"He won't do it!!!" Kain heard himself yelling over and over. "Cecil will not sell out to you!!"  
Rorunar -  
"He'll never give in to you!! He knows you're a fool, and he hates you! For what you've done to him, for what you've done to all of us! And he'll stand against you! He won't do it!!"  
Even as he struggled against the restraining hands which held him - the other members of the King's Guard, he realized, he knew that there was nothing he could do.  
Except wait.  
Cecil wouldn't do it.  
He wouldn't.  
He couldn't.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Sold Out.)  
  
Cecil hummed absently to himself, directing the pilot where to take them, and then leisurely watching the world go by beneath. For all the time he'd spent in the air, he never lost the amazing feeling it had given him the first time he'd flown.  
"We're here, Sir," the pilot told him.  
"Fine, stop us," Cecil replied. He turned to Baigan. "Now we blow up the forest below, and get home in time for lunch."  
"Not just yet," Baigan told him. "I have orders from His Majesty. We're to wait for a special signal to fire."  
For some reason, that struck an odd note in Cecil.  
"A . . . . a signal?"  
"Yes." Baigan waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing serious. Just wants to check reaction time."  
"Oh." That made sense. "I see."  
They waited for a time, until suddenly it occurred to Cecil that -   
"Only, if we get a signal from the ground, and we act on it then, wouldn't it take out whoever sets off the signal?"  
Baigan didn't reply. He continued looking out over the railing, and in that instant, a flaming arrow shot up into the air.  
"There's the signal," Baigan informed him. "Attack, now."  
"Wait a second!" Cecil snapped. "Who's down there?!"  
"No one. The person who shot it off was very capable, he's long out of range by now."  
"What'd he do, ride a chocobo? I'm not attacking when someone might be - "  
"Captain, these are orders from His Majesty! Now obey, and attack! No one is down there, no one will be hurt, but - "  
A shrieking sound was heard below.  
Snapping his attention to the forest far below, Cecil saw to his immense horror, the trees one by one freezing up into great shells of ice.  
It was a different signal, one he knew well.  
"You're lying!" he snarled at Baigan. "Sir Rorunar's down there, and I'm willing to bet you've somehow gotten the entire Dragoon squadron waiting to be taken out - well I won't do it!!"  
"Obey your orders!!" Baigan yelled. "Do as you're told!"  
"I won't kill my friends!"  
"You face execution!"  
"So be it!"  
"Cecil!!" And as Baigan turned his fiery gaze on Cecil, the latter could swear he saw, for a brief instant, a shadow of pure darkness pass over his gaze. "You will do as you're told! You have sold yourself out to the King - you swore on your oath as a Dark Knight to obey His Majesty's - "  
"I don't care!!!" Cecil screamed. "I won't do it!!!!"  
"I will!!!!" Baigan yelled back. "I will have this area destroyed if you will not, my authority is greater than yours, and if it comes to this, you may rest assured that everyone in any way connected with you will meet an agonizing death upon our return to Baron! Your name will be disgraced forever, as well as that of everyone in your bloodline!"  
"I don't have a bloodline!" Cecil yelled. "Empty threat!!"  
"Cid? Veronica? Rosa? Kain? The Engineering staff, your old neighbors?! Empty threat?!?!"  
"I don't believe you'd do it! The Kingdom would revolt!"  
"The Kingdom will not revolt!!!" Baigan yelled. He shoved Cecil quickly aside, catching him off guard, and hit the release for the bombs.  
"Noooooo - - - - ?!?!" Cecil heard, and realized that it came from himself.  
The explosions were heard, he could see the fire fill the air.  
When the bombs were dropped from the Dawn, the other Redwings took that as their own cue to attack. And they did.  
The icy forest below erupted into flame.  
Cecil stared, rapt, frozen himself.  
No . . .   
All of them. 74 people. Sir Rorunar.  
No . . . . I could've stopped him . . .   
Baigan turned and placed his sword at Cecil's throat.  
"Now," he told him in a low tone so that none of the other astonished crewmen could overhear, "you realize that it is futile to resist the King?"  
Cecil couldn't move. He couldn't believe what had just been done by . . . by the fleet of Redwings which was under his command . . .   
Baigan turned away.  
"Take us back to Baron!" he snarled at the pilot.  
Frantic, the pilot turned to Cecil, afraid to act without his consent.  
Cecil managed, with every ounce of strength in him, to nod.  
He looked up at Baigan.  
"I will kill you," he stated in a weak voice. "For what you've done today . . . I will kill you."  
"But you didn't stop me," Baigan reminded him. "This is your command. You are at fault. Not me."   
He stormed off to the other end of the Airship.  
Cecil remained where he was for a moment, on his knees, leaning over the railing of the ship, watching the burning area on the horizon grow smaller and smaller.  
One of the crewmen hesitantly went up to him.  
"Sir . . . ?"  
Cecil slowly turned his head and looked at him.  
The Crewmen reached out and pulled him to his feet.  
"Did we just . . . "  
Cecil just looked at him.  
He couldn't answer.  
  
Baigan had to have been supporting the majority of his weight as he was hauled into the Throne Room upon their return.  
Kain was standing off in a corner, shaking.  
Cecil knew that he knew what had happened.  
And that it was his fault.  
His own fault.  
He, Cecil, had just killed . . .  
"Welcome back," the King greeted happily. "How did it go?"  
Cecil wouldn't answer.  
"Shaky," Baigan replied in his place, "but the Airships have proven to be every bit as deadly as we had hoped."  
Kain turned and bolted from the room in a flash, not even looking in Cecil's direction. Rather, it was almost as if his eyes were closed.  
"And you?"   
Cecil looked up as the King addressed him.  
"Tsk tsk," he was admonished. "Come now, Cecil. No need to be upset. You just did your duty."  
Cecil tensed for a moment, remembering Baigan's threat. But no mention of it came. Then he realized that the Captain of the Guard was going to much prefer watching him take the fall for the incident - as if he'd dropped the bombs himself.  
"My duty . . . " he whispered.  
The King smiled.  
"Yes, of course. You're a Dark Knight, after all."  
Cecil could take no more. He turned, tore himself from Baigan's restraint, and flew from the Castle.  
To the Barracks. Just in case - in case Sir Rorunar had gotten everyone away in time.  
Just in case.  
But the building sectioned off for the Dragoons was empty.  
Completely. Even the trainers and retirees who perpetually loitered were gone - although several bloody splotches decorated the floor. Completely empty.  
Except for -   
A great forced slammed into him, ramming him up against the wall.  
"You sold out!!!!!"  
It was Kain, keeping him there, up against the wall, and for a moment, Cecil thought that he was going to kill him.  
"You killed them!! How could you?!?! How COULD YOU?!?!?!?!??!?!!?"  
"Kain - "  
"Shut up!!" Kain turned, dropping Cecil on the floor. "I trusted you!!! I said you wouldn't do it!!! I knew you wouldn't!! I knew everything meant something to you!! But you sold out - you killed them all just because the King ordered - "  
"Kain, I didn't - "  
Kain turned toward him again, this time swiping at him with his Lance, slicing Cecil across the cheek. It was an expert shot, just slicing the skin. Cecil knew that he could've easily been killed by that blow if Kain had wanted. But it was a warning.  
"Just a Dark Knight," he hissed. "Just a Dark Knight with no courage to disobey His Majesty. Even if it means taking the lives of over fifty people who considered themselves your friends . . . covering while others are slaughtered where they stand . . . "  
"But, Kain, I didn't - "  
"Get out of my sight," Kain commanded in the same hiss. "And don't ever talk to me again, Dark Knight. Not ever again."  
"Kain, please - "  
"Now."  
Cecil could see it in his eyes. The pure hatred.  
He had trusted him.   
And he had failed.   
Even if he hadn't actually dropped the bomb, he hadn't stopped it, either.  
He should've stopped it.  
He should've saved them.  
But he failed.  
He had failed, and allowed them to be killed.  
And he knew that Kain was going to kill him if he stayed.  
Because of what he had done to Sir Rorunar.  
And, swallowing against what threatened to be an overwhelming flood of tears, he ducked away from Kain's blade and tore away.  
Home.  
  
But that too, was empty.  
He searched all throughout the house where he had grown up, looking for some sign of his Dad or of what could have happened.  
But found nothing. It was deserted.  
At least, there were no bloody splotches. No struggle appeared to have taken place.   
He was simply gone.  
With a deep sigh that no one else could hear, Cecil let himself collapse in the middle of the floor.  
He had sold out.  
  
A cold splash of water on his face woke him sometime later.  
Snapping upright, for a moment he didn't remember what had happened.  
Cid knelt beside him.  
"Cecil, what the Hell happened?!?!" he demanded fiercely.  
Cecil just looked at him as the memory returned.  
He explained the best he could.  
Cid listened with a frown.  
"You couldn't have done anything," he finally sighed at the end, seemingly in a shock over what had happened almost as much as he himself was.  
"Yes I could've," Cecil contradicted. "I could've fought him, I could've won. I could've done something. Anything. I could've saved them."  
"Cecil - "  
"But I'm just a Dark Knight with no courage to disobey His Majesty. Kain's right. I sold out. I couldn't do it - I let Baigan kill them."  
Cid grabbed his shoulders and shook him so hard it hurt.  
"Shut up!!" he yelled at him. "Get a hold of yourself! This is exactly what they want!! They're breaking you, Cecil! They're breaking you to their will, and they've almost done it! Fight it!"  
"Fight what?! It's too late to fight, Cid!" Cecil yelled frantically. "They've won! Just look! They've won! I can't fight them!!"  
"Then it's all over! There's nothing left for us to do, Cecil! If you're selling out to the King, then nothing really matters much anymore, does it? Forget about everything they've done - to you, to Veronica, to Kain, to Sir Rorunar - "  
"Sir Rorunar is dead, and that's my fault!!!"  
"Something went wrong - are you going to let everything we tried to accomplish be for nothing?! Didn't anything Rorunar ever said to you mean a thing?!??! Accept only what you must, you idiot!!"  
"Idiot?! I am an idiot! A stupid one! The King's dupe! And nothing can change that!!"  
Cecil stood abruptly.  
"I need to report in," he sullenly told the Engineer.  
And he left.  
Back for the Castle.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Last of His Kind)  
  
It was all up to him now.  
There was no one left to keep him in line.  
No one else to keep him on his toes.  
He was the last of the Dragoons, and now had to take care of himself.  
So he drilled himself constantly, repeating every training step he'd ever learned so meticulously he knew Sir Rorunar would've been irritated with him.  
But Sir Rorunar wasn't here. That was the point.  
"Kain."  
He turned in surprise, not expecting anyone to be out here on the training fields, much less -   
"Rosa?" He blinked. "What are you doing here?"  
She took a step toward him.  
"Kain, I - I've been watching you and . . . and the others. And I had to ask you . . . what are you going to do?"  
A frown crossed his features.  
"Do?"  
"Now that - that you're the last."  
The frown vanished, leaving a blank expression.  
"Well, I guess I follow my orders. It's my duty, after all."  
"Well, what about Cecil?"  
"What about him?"  
"What's wrong with him?! Ever since - "  
"Don't ask me what's wrong with him. I don't know, and I don't care to find out."  
"He's been in a daze for weeks now."  
"So what else is new?"  
"Kain, stop it! He's completely under the King's spell! And you can't criticize him, because so are you!"  
"Criticize?!" Kain blinked, incredulous. "This isn't about criticism, Rosa! It has nothing to do with criticism!"  
"Then what does it have to do with?!" Rosa looked furious. "Look, I know how attached you were to Rorunar - "  
"Excuse me, no." He crossed his arms and glared at her soundly. "Rosa, I mean no insult to you, but there is no way you could have any idea."  
She frowned.  
"Kain, all I'm saying is that unless you do something, Cecil is going to be lost completely. He's giving in more and more each day, and already there's almost nothing left. Now none of us know exactly what happened on that Airship, but - "  
"We know exactly what happened on that Airship," Kain bluntly reminded her. "Five bombs were dropped, which cleanly obliterated an entire designated area of land . . . "  
"But can't you forgive him?! We have to move on, and you two are so powerful together, if any good is ever going to come from this Kingdom, we need you both!"  
"Forgive?!" Kain looked at her as if she were crazy. "What's to forgive, Rosa? They're dead. I can't forgive that. Well, you'd need to ask them. And they're dead. Nothing you, I, Cecil, or the great King himself can do will ever change that."  
She reached out and took his hand.  
"And is Cecil to bear the weight of their deaths?"  
He returned her gaze steadily.  
"Yes."  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Shrouded in Darkness)  
  
Cecil paced back and forth rapidly through the rooms of the Castle now designated for the crew of the Redwings.  
"If anyone's uncertain about this," he told them in a low voice, "back out now. Because after tomorrow, there's no turning back."  
No one moved or made a sound, which was a good thing. If one of them wanted out now, the King wasn't going to be very happy. And Cecil didn't want to see that wrath brought down on his people.  
Tomorrow was the day when, at last, the Redwings were to be turned against Eblan itself. If all went as planned, the war would be over by the next day.  
If all didn't go as planned, there were going to be some dead Baronites lurking about.  
"Captain," one of them said, taking a step forward, "we take pride in being members of the Redwings! And we take pride in saving our Kingdom."  
Cecil nodded. That was right, he supposed. They were going to save the Kingdom.  
"That and, His Majesty commands it," he murmured to himself.  
  
He left them and went to his room to retire for the night, not really thinking about anything. Before he got there, though, someone else found him.  
"Cecil! Wait!"  
Pausing in surprise, Cecil turned and saw Rosa rushing up to him.  
"Rosa?"  
"Cecil, you have a blue lobster attached to your foot, and it's laying eggs everywhere you step."  
Cecil blinked, startled.  
"Huh?"  
Rosa stood still, pursing her lips and frowning.  
"Now that I have your attention - "  
"Rosa, what's all this about?"  
She looked around, noted a couple of observers, grabbed his arm, and dragged him into the Tower stairway, which was deserted at this time.  
"Cecil, before you go and very well maybe get yourself killed, I want you to take a look at yourself."  
He blinked again.  
"Why would I want to go and do a silly thing like that?" he blandly inquired.  
She frowned.  
"I'm not joking. Not at all. Cecil, we used to be friends. We used to be very good friends. Now I look at you, and it's like you're walking around with your own cloud of doom. You're completely shrouded in darkness! People are afraid of you, and it's not just because you're a Dark Knight, it's because you'll do whatever you're ordered without any question of morality!"  
Cecil shrugged, feeling oddly removed from the conversation.  
"What else should I do?"  
"But, Cecil, I don't even know you anymore! I can't even remember your face anymore, the memory is so clouded by what I now see! Do you even exist anymore, other than as a Dark Knight?"  
"Rosa, I'm going to battle tomorrow. Is there something else, or can I say goodnight?"  
She took a step back, shaking her head.  
"Cecil, how could you have given yourself in so totally?"  
He returned her gaze steadily.  
"Quite easily, in fact."  
And without another word, he turned and left her standing there.  
  
"We're over Eblan now, Captain," one of the crewmen told him as their flight slowed.  
Cecil nodded.  
"Good."  
The fleet of the five scarlet Airships drew to a halt and hovered over the Ninja Kingdom, moving in perfect synchronization with one another. By unspoken command, each of the Redwings loaded their bomb bays.  
Cecil moved to the railing of Dawn, looking down as the citizens of the City emerged from their homes and gawked up at them in astonishment. Never before had the Eblanians laid their eyes on anything like them.  
Then the army massed beneath them.  
Nodding slowly to himself, Cecil took the prepared statement from the crewmen who handed it to him and dropped it over the side.  
Someone who looked like he was in charge picked it up.  
This was to be their only warning. Either Eblan would surrender, or they would be destroyed.  
Cecil waited patiently, completely detached from the civilians below. They weren't his concern. The soldiers and fighters, however, those who had been attacking their Kingdom for over a hundred years, were.  
The recipient of his message looked up at him for a moment, somehow establishing eye contact over the great distance.  
Then he turned away and said something to someone near him.  
"Captain?" one of the crewmen inquired anxiously.  
Cecil held up a hand. They would wait to see the response.  
The response came an instant later in the form of a great fireball, catapulted up at the Dawn, striking them and forcing them to wobble dangerously in the air.  
" . . . dirty work afoot in fair Eblana . . . "  
Instantly, the other four Airships began their attack.  
Flames began to envelope the deck.  
"Everyone okay?!?!" Cecil called, hurrying with a large portion of the crew to put out the fires.  
One by one, the reassurance of their well-being reached him, and within moments, the fire was under control.  
"Okay, drop the bombs," Cecil briskly ordered. "And someone get me a full damage report!"  
The mumbled obedience and scurried about the ship as Cecil took the controls. As the bombs were dropped, one by one, on the Kingdom below, he maneuvered them through the familiar drill of where would be the most damage done.  
The sounds of explosions and flame, mixed with screams of pain and terror, drifted up to them, but he ignored it.  
One sound did catch his attention, though.  
"What's that?!" he shouted over the sound of their onslaught.  
"The Anterior Propeller!" replied one of the crewmen from the named position. "The blast we took . . . it damaged the mast. Stop maneuvering! We may lose it!"  
"@#$%!" Cecil cursed under his breath, halting the motion of the Airship. If they lost the propeller . . .  
"We're losing fuel!" another crewmen informed him. "Leaking fast!"  
"Damage to all lower decks - don't take us too fast, or we may rattle apart!" cried another.  
The propeller began to creak louder.  
Cecil took a wild look around at the Airship.  
This Airship - Dawn - the first successful ever built in the Kingdom of Baron. The one he'd been trained in by a man he'd respected and murdered. And the one - the memory returned hesitantly - where he'd felt the amazing exhilaration which surpassed everything he'd ever known the first time he'd flown. A feeling which had dwindled and died in the past year.  
And the one he'd been flying with Baigan when . . .  
He shook his head.  
Dawn was falling apart around them. They had to get out of there.  
"What's the attack status?" he sharply asked.  
"Euh - I think we're about done, Captain!" replied a crewman. "The others made up for us. The City's completely destroyed."  
"What about the Castle?"  
"It's still standing, but barely."  
"Fine. Fine, that'll have to do. Pull us out."  
He let the pilot take over and hurried to examine the propeller.  
"Isn't there any way we could add support to this?"  
"Maybe, Sir, we could anchor it down somewhat," a crewmen replied. "Should I get the ropes from below?"  
"Yes, quickly." Cecil turned to another as he rushed off. "What about the other Airships?"  
"They signal okay. Minor damages caused by the catapults, but all superficial."  
"And the catapults are now all destroyed. That's a plus. Did you tell them our situation?"  
"Yes, Sir, they're aware."  
"Tell them to go on ahead if we fall behind. Let Baron know we may be in need of assistance when we return."  
"Right!"  
And he turned to signal the other Redwings.  
The crewman returned with the rope, and all those available, Cecil included, proceeded to try and anchor the defective mast by tying it down to the sides of the Airship. As long as the ropes held, so should the mast, and so should the Airship.  
But they couldn't last forever.  
"We need more speed!" Cecil yelled at the pilot. "Or we'll be crashed before we're halfway there!"  
"If we speed it up, the whole thing could rattle apart!!!" came the frantic reply.   
"Structural damage increasing constantly!"  
"A fire's started in the motor!!"  
Cecil blinked.  
"Put it out!"  
"Yes, Sir!"  
Cecil, shaking his head in bewilderment, followed the crewman down to the lower levels of the Airship to attend to the fire, forgetting about the report of leaking fuel.  
Taking into consideration the time they'd taken to anchor the mast, they should reach Baron within an hour at their present speed. Which just wasn't fast enough . . .  
The other Redwings had gone on ahead - they should reach in about fifteen minutes.   
"Let's just get it fixed for the moment!" Cecil told his companion as they approached the burning level with the engine. "Then I think we should just land and wait for reinforcements. We're over land again - "  
"Captain! The fuel leakage!"  
"Huh?"  
It took Cecil about a fourth of a second's reaction time to get what the crewman was saying. And in that fourth of a second, the fire from the engine reached a pool of leaked fuel.  
The explosion threw him back against the far wall of the level. In the brief moment before he lost consciousness, he could see the Airship split in half, the damaged mast collapse, saw the ground rushing up to meet them as the fire spread throughout . . .  
  
"Your mother . . . she was so young. Didn't deserve to be widowed. But told me right up that she'd known it   
was going to happen. Your father was a strange man, but somehow, she understood him. Believed in what he said  
They were really in love. When he died, and we got married, she told me that there was a special fate in store for her children, and that it now fell entirely to you. But she couldn't tell me what it was."  
"This fate . . . was it good? Or . . . "  
"I can't tell you, Cecil, but I can tell you this. You bore all the Hell I put you through, and despite all of it, you   
turned out to be a good kid. I admire you for that, I know I wouldn't have done as well. And I believe that you can take whatever fate lies in store for you and turn it good, somehow. Just do what you know is right, like you always do."  
  
The first thing Cecil was aware of was, of course, pain.  
It was always pain. Anymore, the absence of pain seemed to hurt more than the real thing. Pain was what he knew. It was what he dealt in.  
But then something cut through it. A touch, light, delicate, from a hand . . . on his face, brushing at what he figured must be some terrible wound from the pain of it, but that somehow seemed calming and healing instead of cruel.  
He opened his eyes.  
Rosa knelt over him.  
"Cecil," she said in a low voice, "can you hear me?"  
Swallowing against the burning in his charred throat, he nodded slightly.  
She nodded back, and said nothing to him. Rather, she began chanting.  
The memory of what had happened rushed back to him.  
The Airship was destroyed. Burned, blown up, split in two, and crashed. That much he knew, but for all he'd seen before being knocked out, even more probably could've happened.  
And his crew? Were they . . .  
Rosa finished her chant, and he saw the green light spreading faintly over him. As it faded, so did a good portion of the pain he felt.  
"Rosa . . . " he whispered.  
She leaned down close to hear him.  
"Yes? What is it?"  
"Are . . . the crew . . . "  
Smiling, she replied, "They're hurt, but no more badly than you. Miracles really do happen: none of you were killed."  
He let his eyes fall closed in weakness, sighing. That was good. For a moment he just lay there, trying to muster up some energy, and remembered what she had said to him the night before. And the strange memory that haunted his mind ever since consciousness first began to return. The memory of his Dad, and what he'd said after revealing the truth about their relationship to Cecil.   
Why did it all seem to fit together?  
He thought of the screams from Eblan.  
And he remembered when he'd thought that war was foolish. When he'd actually felt nauseous about killing. Not so much as Kain had, but . . .  
He thought of Kain. For well over a year, they hadn't spoken. Not a word. He hadn't even seen him, he suddenly realized. Because of what he'd done. And rather than face that, he'd just hidden behind this mask - the mask of the Dark Knight.  
Floundering one hand around for a moment, he finally caught Rosa's hand in his own.  
"Rosa," he whispered again, "can you still not remember my face? Am I really as shadowed as that . . . "  
Lacking the strength to open his eyes again, he just lay silently, waiting for whatever reply she might have.  
Rather than say anything, he felt her take a hold of his Helmet, that which he'd not stepped outside his room without for so long, and carefully pull it over and off his head.  
Finally, he forced his eyes open.  
"How did I come to be so consumed?" he whispered faintly. "Why did I have all that hatred . . . "  
"Hush," she whispered back, leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the forehead. "You're hurt, Cecil. You need rest. We'll take you back to Baron in the Bounty, and when you wake up, we can talk."  
Indeed, sleep was quickly catching up again with the Dark Knight. But before he allowed his eyes to close again, he found himself looking at Rosa, really looking, for the first time since they'd first met in school . . . how many years ago?  
She grown up and he'd never noticed. After all, she was . . . well, she was Rosa! Always there, never changed, just Rosa. Just as he'd always been just Cecil. Just the way he was. And Kain had always been Kain.  
None of them were how they used to be. He realized that.   
Including Rosa.  
And his last thought was that she had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Rosa)  
  
Kain leaned on his Lance and looked out the window curiously.  
So the war was over. That was good. It was about time.  
Although it was strange. It had, after all, been going on for longer than anyone in the Kingdom had been alive.  
But the day after the attack of the Redwings on Eblan, one of the Airships had returned to the ruined Kingdom to accept their unconditional surrender.  
So it was really over.  
That was interesting.  
Also interesting was the concept of Cecil being a hero.  
Kain drove all malice from his mind and forced himself to think objectively.  
Of course Cecil was a hero. He was the Captain of the fleet which had won the war. That made sense. Cecil was a hero.  
He was still a traitor, but he was a heroic traitor.  
Then he realized that he was thinking too much, and thinking is dangerous. So he went to find Rosa.  
  
"So how is he?"  
Rosa threw him a sideways glance.  
"Is that concern I hear?"  
Kain shrugged self-consciously.  
"Habit. Is he okay?"  
She sighed.  
"Yes, he's fine. A day asleep after he was returned fixed him up, along with magical aid. He'll not have a mark on him . . . from the explosion, anyway."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I think the experience shook him terribly. Made him look at what he's become, and remember what we all used to stand for. Or you all, I should say. I never played much of an active role in it."  
"No . . . so, what, is he finally shaping up?"  
She blinked.  
"I really couldn't tell you. I said he was shaken. But when you've been consumed totally like that . . . well, it's not easy to break out. And it can't be easy to break out, even if he wants to. He's in so deep . . . up to his neck, now. The King, I swear, almost treats him like his own son, anymore."  
"That's all we need. King Cecil."  
"Kain, be serious."  
"Sorry."  
"But what I don't understand is . . . hmm, you know, maybe Veronica might know."  
Kain arched an eyebrow.  
"Know what?"  
"Why," and Rosa arched an eyebrow back, "if the war is over, are the Airships continuing to be built?"  
Kain shrugged.  
"I guess to find out why, you'd need to ask the King himself."  
"Yes, I suppose so."  
"You . . . you and Cecil've got something going now, haven't you?"  
Rosa turned to him with an expression of total shock.  
"N-no! W-whatever gave you that idea?!"  
Kain tapped his foot.  
"It's obvious. Everytime you mention his name, you get that dreamy look in your eyes."  
Squaring her shoulders, Rosa staunchly informed him, "Kain, even if there were something going on between Cecil and I, which there isn't, it would be no business of yours."  
And she turned and flounced away.  
Kain almost burst out laughing. It was obvious. Terribly obvious.  
Then a wave of melancholy flooded over him, startling him.  
Why should it bother him? If Rosa wanted to squander away her trust and compassion on someone as disloyal and weak as Cecil, why should he oppose it? Rosa knew well what he was like, she was a big girl, and could make her own decisions.  
BAMF!  
It struck him.  
This wasn't melancholy.  
This was jealousy!  
The realization struck him so hard that he had to sit quickly, or else lose his balance.  
How had it never occurred to him before that he was in love with Rosa?  
Maybe the same way that it never occurred to her that she was in love with Cecil.  
But Rosa had come to symbolize everything left in the world to him. His one link to his past - the one person who remained untouched and unharmed by the King, the one person he still felt he could trust without endangering his own heart.  
And now, he realized, there was more.  
He shook his head.  
It was so obvious the way she felt about Cecil. If he tried to intervene, he knew, she wouldn't have anything to do with him again, ever.  
Best to keep his nose out of it, and accept her friendship.  
Yes. It was better than nothing.  
His heart screamed something vulgar to his brain, which shouted something terribly profane back, but he ignored them both and went to find something to eat.  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Rapier - The Crystal of Water)  
  
"Cecil."  
Cecil glanced up at the King on his throne.  
"Yes, Your Majesty?"  
"I want you to take the Redwings and capture the Crystal of Water from Mysidia."  
Cecil frowned. The Crystal of Water? What did the King want with . . .  
"May I ask what purpose that would serve?" he inquired, his frown still in place.  
The King frowned back.  
"Disobeying me?!"  
"No, Sir," Cecil quickly replied. "I just wondered what I should tell the crew if they ask."  
Nodding, the King accepted that hurried comeback.  
"It's very powerful," he told him. "And the Mysidians know too much of its secrets." He paused. "Possessing the Crystal is essential to our prosperity. The reasons for which will be made plain to you soon enough. Accept that for now."  
Cecil nodded.  
"Yes, My Liege."  
  
As he backed out and headed for the Airships to clear the takeoff with Cid, he couldn't help but wonder what good it would possibly do to have the Crystal of Water. After all, it was just a Crystal. Right?  
But that didn't make sense. The King had to want it for something.  
What power could the Crystal possess, which was so dangerous that the King demanded it removed from the Mysidians' hands?  
But did it really matter? After all . . . he had to follow his orders.  
Just because of who he was.  
Didn't he?  
He realized he was thinking too much, and stopped.  
Cid was making the final check on the newest Airship, Rapier. Dawn had been pronounced unsalvageable after the crash, and the already partially-built Airship was quickly completed to take its place.  
Its coating of red paint was barely dry, but it would soon have its shakedown mission.  
"Is it flight-ready?" Cecil asked Cid by way of greeting, startling the Engineer and making him jump nearly six miles.  
Landing, Cid turned to him and grinned.  
"Cecil, if you do that again, I will kill you."  
Cecil nodded.  
"I know. Is it flight-ready?"  
Cid shrugged.  
"Sure. What's up?"  
"Oh . . . " Cecil suddenly felt uncomfortable. "The King's sending us on a trip."  
Concerned, Cid frowned.  
"Anywhere with catapults?"  
"No. In fact, we won't attack from the air. We're supposed to land and move in."  
Cid frowned deeper.  
"Cecil . . . the war's over. Why is he sending you on an offensive mission?"  
Cecil shrugged self-consciously.  
"Euh . . . it shouldn't be . . . very offensive."  
Cid tapped his foot impatiently.  
"What is it?"  
"He wants us to take the Crystal of Water from Mysidia."  
"What?! What on Earth could be so important about a Crystal that he'd launch an attack on Mysidia?! They're our greatest allies!!"  
Cecil held out his hands to convey his own cluelessness.  
"I don't know!" he replied with another shrug. "I just know my orders."  
Sulking, Cid turned back to the Rapier.  
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Watch yourself. Airborne monsters are getting more common."  
Cecil nodded.  
"I'd heard. Haven't encountered any on the Redwings yet, though."  
"Yet," Cid emphasized.  
  
A few hours later, the Redwings, with their new flagship fully operational, took off towards Mysidia. In a relatively short while, they neared the City.  
"Captain Cecil, we are about to arrive!" the Navigator brightly told him.  
Cecil nodded.  
"Good."  
He stood in the Command position, concentrating on their mission. Or trying to. He couldn't help but hear the restless conversation drifting between the crewmen.  
"Why are we robbing crystals from innocent people?"  
A good question. Cecil wondered about that himself.  
"That's our duty," another replied, quietly, apparently hoping that Cecil wouldn't overhear.  
Duty. There was that word again. But it wasn't a duty, it was a loyalty. Their duty was to the Kingdom . . .  
"Do we really have to keep doing this?"  
Cecil almost burst out laughing at the sullen question. That was the technical crewman, in charge of in-flight maintenance, lovingly referred to as the Techie. The one who had gone with Cecil to see to the fire on Dawn. He'd been sulking almost constantly ever since that mission. The question was just so . . . . him.  
  
He and seven members of his crew disembarked at Mysidia, the others remaining on the Airships to keep them warmed up in case a speedy departure would be necessary.  
As if. I doubt any Mysidians would last for a second against us.  
Approaching and closing in silently on the Crystal, they paused at the sight of the Elder of Mysidia, along with his guard of two Black Wizards and one White Wizard. There were no fighters in Mysidia, really. They were all Scholars or Wizards.  
Why were they doing this?  
"Give us the Crystal of Water!"  
The Elder blinked nervously at the demand, glancing at them, at his Wizards, then directly at Cecil.  
"What have we done?" he asked in a weak voice.  
Cecil just hoped he wouldn't have a heart attack and keel over. He didn't want to hurt him. He didn't want there to be any trouble between them. But his orders were as stood.  
"The Crystal or your life!" Cecil snapped, knowing that the Elder couldn't see his uncertainty through his dark mask.  
One of the Wizards clenched his fists around his staff.  
"Never!" he spat, the fury blazing in his eyes.  
"Then we'll take the Crystal by force!" Cecil declared, detaching himself from the scene as he always did.  
The Mysidians took a frantic step back closer to the Crystal with a mix of fear and protectiveness.  
Four of his crew advanced on them, striking out without a word. Just as they'd been trained.  
"WAAAH!" came the startled cry of one of the Black Wizards, just before he was swooned by the blow. The other met the same fate.  
Cecil sighed to himself. They would be taken back to Baron and locked in the dungeons for treachery. The treachery of protecting the property of their City.  
The White Wizard watched, frenzied. Shaking, she took a step forward.  
"No!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Don't!"  
"Dare to defy us?" snapped a crewman before Cecil could do more than register the innocence in this young Wizard's face. Why, she was hardly more than a child -   
Three crewmen near her turned and attacked.  
"ARRRGH!" she cried in astonished agony. That blow was probably more than she'd ever even pondered in her years. She fell almost instantly.  
The Elder stepped forward.  
At his movement, the crewmen all halted, watching him.  
Trembling, the Elder glanced around at what they had done - at the unconscious bodies of his three Mages.  
"My!" Surprise seemed to override his horror for a moment. "All right . . . take the Crystal!" he exclaimed.  
"You should have said it earlier!" one of the crewmen informed him with, Cecil noted, a certain degree of regret.  
If only he'd said it earlier. They could've spared the fate of these three Wizards. But now . . .  
The Elder was pulled aside, and Cecil crossed the room to claim the Crystal. As his fingers touched its surface, he felt its tingle jump against his skin.  
Yes. There was a power here. One he'd never known of, but, he supposed, that could very well pose a threat to the Kingdom. Perhaps the King was right.  
He took it in his hands and headed for the door.  
The Elder stepped away from the man who held him.  
"Why is the King of Baron doing this?" he cried, overwrought. "Why do you pursue the Crystals so eagerly?"  
So eagerly that he'd launch an attack against Mysidia?  
Cecil paused at the door.  
Whatever power the Crystal had, it hadn't protected the Mysidians. Whatever power indeed . . . this was piracy. They were stealing from defenseless people.  
  
He wasn't the only one to harbor these concerns, it seemed.  
"We take pride in being members of the Redwings!" one of his crewmen hotly informed him. "Looting is out of the question!"  
A pang of fear struck Cecil, remembering what had happened to Kain all those years earlier.  
"Stop it!" he warned, stepping forward. If they were reported speaking against the King's orders -   
As one, the crew turned on him.  
"Captain!" one of them objected.  
"We can't stand doing this anymore!"  
"Listen!" Cecil broke in, desperate to shut them up. He thought back to the information the King had given him to use in these circumstances. "Possessing the Crystal is an essential factor for our prosperity," he weakly recited. "Moreover, His Majesty judged that the Mysidians know too much about the secret of the Crystals." They looked at him skeptically, and Cecil knew he'd have to do better than that. "We are the Redwings, the Air Force of the Kingdom of Baron! The Royal Command is absolute."  
He paused.  
I can't believe I just said that.  
"Captain!" came a shout from the front of the Airship. Looking up, Cecil saw one of the crewmen rushing towards them. "Monsters!"  
Cecil smacked a hand against his forehead. Of all times.  
Well, it provided a distraction.  
"Take up fighting positions!" he ordered briskly, drawing his Sword.  
He looked up. He didn't see them. Then they shot over the side, hovering over the deck, lashing out at the crew.  
FloatEyes.  
Summoning up his strength, Cecil quickly dealt with them, not wanting to get into a lengthy fight which might damage the new Airship. Cid would kill him if the paint was scratched.  
They vaporized upon defeat.  
"Ouch!" exclaimed the Techie, collapsed on the floor of the Airship from their initial attack.  
"You okay?" Cecil inquired, concerned.  
"More coming!" warned someone else.  
Looking up, he saw the approach of the monster.  
"Watch out!" he called, caught off guard and wounded slightly by the monster. But he dealt with it fairly easily.  
Rubbing his slashed arm, he asked, "Everyone okay?"  
The crew, flustered, gathered around him, flocking almost as if for protection.   
"Yes, Sir!" the Navigator told him, although they all looked more than just a little disconcerted by the ordeal.  
"But there are too many monsters these days . . . " someone mused.  
"Too many, agreed," another agreed.  
Cecil sighed and nodded. Too many monsters. But there was little they could do. Techie was a little binged up, there were minor wounds among himself and the others, but they were okay. That was all he could really ask for anymore.  
The crew slowly took up their positions again, signaled to the other Airships what had happened, and continued the journey back to Baron.  
  
After landing, Cecil made sure his people were safely off to their rooms and headed for the Castle himself, to report in.  
Baigan met him at the gate.  
"Oh, Cecil!" he greeted, as if surprised. "Is it the Crystal of Water?"  
Cecil didn't stop to be confused by the question. Baigan never made much sense anymore.  
"But the Mysidians were so helpless . . . " he heard himself sigh, still somewhat distraught by the incident.  
Baigan frowned.  
"What are you trying to say?"  
Cecil swallowed nervously and didn't reply.  
Still frowning, Baigan motioned for him to follow.  
"This way, Cecil."  
Cecil followed him as he headed for the Throne Room, but before they entered, Baigan stopped and turned to him.  
"Please wait here."  
And he went on, leaving Cecil standing there, wondering what was happening. At the same time the King seemed to begin acting oddly, so had Baigan. He still didn't know what to make of it.  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Choosing Sides)  
  
Kain had watched the Redwings take off, but couldn't find out where they had gone. The only person who seemed to know was Cid, and he just shrugged and mumbled something under his breath, which meant to Kain that there must be dirty work afoot.  
Cecil was probably on another mission of death from the King. And why not? Dark Knight, King's Pawn. Just another Pawn.  
When the crew of the Redwings scurried through the Castle to their rooms, Kain grabbed one who didn't seem hurt and pulled him aside.  
"Where did you guys go?" he inquired in a forcedly light tone.  
The crewman sniffed.  
"That concerns you how?"  
Kain glared at him and he squirmed slightly. Always a good sign. Six foot, 7 inches - Kain found that he was a quite intimidating figure garbed in his Dragon armor - very handy for scaring the lesser minions.  
"We went to Mysidia. For the Crystal of Water."  
The Crystal of Water? They went to Mysidia to take the City's most prized treasure?  
"Tell me," he said with a menacing grin. "Did they put up a fight?"  
The crewman shrugged in an agitated manner, and Kain got the impression that he was decidedly unhappy with the turnout of his mission.  
"They tried. But were easily defeated."  
"So you just barged in on Mysidia and attacked? For their Crystal?"  
"In a nutshell."  
He turned and scurried off. Kain didn't stop him.   
How could Cecil be doing this?! How could he be attacking innocent people head to head? It was one thing even to drop bombs on a group of fighters, it was something completely different to invade a peaceful city and forcefully loot!  
In fury, he stalked off to the Throne Room. He didn't care what the King would do to him. He was going to go in there, and take Cecil down. For good.  
Outside the Throne Room, the Guards, stiffened at his arrival, but didn't interfere with him after he glared at them, his fury showing through. And the voices from within drifted without.  
"Good! Cecil . . . you may leave now."  
It was the King. Congratulating Cecil on a job well done. That evil son of a -   
"Your Majesty!"  
That was Cecil. Kain frowned. He sounded distraught.   
Suddenly, for the first time in over a year, it occurred to Kain that maybe Cecil was somehow innocent to his crimes. Hmm.   
He continued listening.  
"W-what?"  
Of course, the King must've been startled out of his gourd to hear his loyal Dark Knight questioning him.  
"W-what is it?"  
Baigan. Where there was the King, there was always Baigan.  
"We do not understand the meaning of taking Crystals away from honest people."  
Cecil's voice was soft, almost too much so for Kain to make out his words. The anguish in them showed clearly through the tone.  
Objectively, Kain. Think objectively.  
"Disobeying me?"  
"No, I'm not."  
Of course not. He'd never dare do such a thing.  
Kain paused.  
Would he? Was it just that maybe he'd never dare?  
"We do know of your discontent, Cecil." Discontent? "If you cannot trust me, I can no longer place the Redwings under your command. You are dismissed from your post!"  
"Your Majesty!!"  
Kain could hear the sound of a faint struggle, and a different rage suddenly filled him.  
And after all, he suddenly remembered, he'd promised his mother that he would protect him as best as he could.  
Heck! He was going to throttle Cecil, not some stupid Royal Bully!  
"Go and hunt the Summoned Monsters of Misty Valley! And . . . " there was a pause, "take this package to the Village Mist. You may depart tomorrow morning!"  
For a brief moment, Kain wondered if he really wanted to go through with what he was about to do.   
Heck with it.  
He threw the doors open.  
"Your Majesty!" he called loudly, making sure everyone noticed him well.  
He entered the room with a confident stride and stood next to Cecil, who looked at him in shock.  
"Cecil didn't . . . " Kain began in an attempt to protect his - his - his acquaintance, but was cut off as the Guards pushed them back.  
"If you're concerned about Cecil that much, go with him, Kain!" the King snapped.  
Kain wrinkled his nose at the King with an expression of contempt. And he realized that he was concerned about Cecil. In fact, he was worried sick. He had been for a long time, but all his anger and hatred had gotten in the way.  
Now, in this moment, that hatred was directed back to its original source - the King himself.  
"Your Majesty!" Cecil cried.  
Kain glanced at him, but was unable to read his expression. It was blocked by his helmet.  
"Now!" the King ordered. "Leave with the package!"  
He handed a small box to a Guard who handed it to Cecil. Then they were both pushed closer to the door.  
"Your Majesty!" Cecil cried again, with a note of desperation in his voice.  
But to no avail. They were both shoved out the door, which closed behind him.  
Kain waited.  
Cecil seemed afraid to say anything, but finally said in a tiny voice, "Sorry, Kain."  
In that one statement, Kain could sense so much. Sorry not so much for the incident which had just happened, but for everything else . . .   
"Don't worry," he replied in a consoling tone, deliberately misinterpreting. "He'll put you back in command of the Redwings after this mission."  
Cecil looked up, confused.  
"But - " he contradicted, trying to explain what he was really apologizing for, but Kain didn't want to hear it. He just couldn't stand to hear it.  
"Never mind!" he snapped, and Cecil snapped his head back as if struck. Kain sighed and softened his tone. "Go back to your room and take a rest," he lamely finished.  
Kain was feeling decidedly awkward with this situation. He hadn't spoken to Cecil in over a year. He hadn't even been able to think about him without being overcome with contempt. Just a few minutes ago, he'd been all set to tear his head off. Now he just couldn't think of anything to say.  
He wouldn't let himself think of what had happened on the Redwings' trial mission. As long as he kept it out of his mind, maybe things could turn back to somewhat how they used to be.  
But for now, he had to get out of here.  
Turning and leaving Cecil, he headed off to one of the outer wings to get a drink and occupy himself.  
Things could never be the way they were.  
Never.  
Cecil appeared at his side.  
Kain looked at him for a moment before forcing a smile.  
"What's wrong?" he lightly asked.  
Cecil opened his mouth to say something, closed it, then opened it again.  
"Sorry, Kain . . . "  
"Oh, stop that!" Kain brightly said with just enough of an edge that usually warned people to let something be.  
Cecil either missed it, or didn't care.  
"I mastered the Dark Sword as commanded by His Majesty," he blurted. Kain said nothing, he knew that. He remembered clearly the day that Cecil had become the Dark Knight. "But it was to defend and not to rob!"  
Kain sighed and lowered his head.  
He knew that, too. He's always known it. Even Sir Rorunar had said that, as long as Cecil remained in good with the King, he could use his position to do good.  
"Do not blame yourself," he told him in a soft voice. I've blamed you enough for us both. "His Majesty must have his own reason."  
Whatever that reason was, however, may well turn out to decide the fate of both of them.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(Son of KluYa)  
  
The idea of entering the house unasked in the middle of the night was a little disconcerting for Cid, but the urgency of Julia's message brought him there anyway.  
As she'd told him, the door had been left unlocked, and he let himself in as quietly as he could.  
"I'm glad you could come."  
Julia lit a small candle next the chair in which she sat - a formality for her, because she couldn't see anyway, no matter how much light was in the room. Her blindness still shocked him. Somehow, it didn't seem possible that Julia of all people should receive such a disability.  
"First chance I got, Julia. Everything's going to heck lately - what can I do for you?"  
Cid took hold of a chair from the table and pulled it over next to her, and was about to sit, when she answered.  
"He's here."  
Cid stumbled right over the chair.  
"Here?!"  
He. The pronoun "he", under normal circumstances, which could mean just about anyone. In this case, though, he knew exactly who "he" was.  
"Oh, not here, exactly, not in this house, but - "  
"But you've seen him?"  
"More than that, Cid."  
Julia paused for a long moment, as if gathering her words still, after all the time which had passed since she'd summoned hem.  
Cid righted the chair and sat in it, waiting. If she knew how to find one of the sons of KluYa, it was worth the wait.  
"He's been coming to this house for eleven years. He befriended my son . . . "  
"Why didn't you tell me?!"  
"I couldn't be sure - not until just recently. I was, almost, but had to be certain."  
"Yes . . . I guess that makes sense." For years, it had seemed as if she'd suspected something, but could never be "sure". Now, though . . . "Where is he now?"  
"At home, with his stepfather."  
"Stepfather?"  
Something snapped inside of him.  
"Yes."  
"Dang it. Then . . . "  
Then KluYa must be dead. And he must've sent off his children to somewhere safe. Was that what the message from the Mysidian had meant? How he didn't think they'd meet again, but the children were safe?  
"Yes. He must not have completed his mission in time."  
"I knew it. Then he's . . . "  
"Apparently so. I'm sorry."  
KluYa was dead. And he must have been for some time, if the child had been with Julia for eleven years. Cid sighed inwardly. All the hopes he'd somehow managed to keep going . . .  
"I knew it." He had. Somehow, he'd known. He'd just managed to keep hoping - just a little bit. But he'd known. Deep down. "Now it's up to the kid . . . which one?"  
"Cecil."  
"Hm." He remembered Cecil - CeCil. That last day he'd seen KluYa, when he'd picked him up, then sent him to his mother. "I wonder whatever happened to . . . " The other. The one who still didn't have a known identity.  
"I don't know. Cecil never mentioned such a person, I'm not sure he knows he even existed."  
Cid frowned. KluYa wouldn't've wanted them separated, he knew. Something else must've happened to the other . . .  
"What's he doing?"  
"He is going to be a Dragoon."  
"Really." Cid considered that if it was up to Cecil to fight off the great evil KluYa had been sent to vanquish, this was a good thing. "I guess that's a good sign . . . "  
"He's a good child - I think that, whatever his mission is, he'll manage it."  
"Too bad we don't know what it is . . . "  
"I'm certain he doesn't have any idea. He doesn't know about any of it."  
"And I'd been told not to tell him. I promised I wouldn't."  
"I will not endanger him with this knowledge either."  
"Maybe I should say something to Rorunar - "  
"No. If he is to be able to face what is ahead, he must be strong, and he must learn the same way everyone else does, without any favor."  
"It wouldn't be fair to the others anyway, I guess."  
"No, it wouldn't. And I'm not sure how much trust I'd place in him anyway. They say he's descended from an Esper . . . " Julia paused and looked sightlessly over at Cid, her manner laughing. They both knew what Rorunar was like. But they'd both trust him with their lives. Then her expression changed abruptly. "The King is dying."  
Cid raised an eyebrow. He'd only recently heard that himself.  
"How did you know?"  
"I could feel it."  
"Julia, you're getting pretty weird."  
"I know. But I like it."  
"Marion never knew what she was missing . . . "  
"Magic is not my strong point, Cid. It never was. I'm just an Empath, and an untrained one at that. Little good I'd've ever been to her. I had other things to deal with."  
"Like the son of KluYa?"  
"Among others."  
"Oh yeah, your own kids, right?" Cid jibed, knowing how attached she was to those two. And he'd just taken her daughter on as a worker. Good kid.   
"Cid, you're weirder than I'll ever be."  
"Thanks. But you're right - the King's dying, and that stupid Prince . . . "  
Julia raised a hand to silence him.  
"Things may turn out for the best, you know."  
Cid raised his eyebrows.  
"The best? Gosh only knows what that's gonna be!"  
"Just wait. You may be surprised."  
She reached toward him, and he took her hands in his own, gripping them tightly. Julia had been perhaps his closest friend ever since KluYa had left so many years ago. Outside of Matryad, of course. It was good to know that one of the children they'd been seeking all those years was in her hands. Very good to know.  
As long as Cecil remained under Rorunar's jurisdiction, Cid supposed, there was little reason to worry about him. Rorunar would make sure he was trained properly and with the correct mentality. The only concern was that he would turn out weird . . . but then, KluYa had been pretty weird himself. Perhaps Rorunar would do the kid a favor.  
He just wished somehow that he could've played a more active role in Cecil's upbringing. As it was, he'd never known the child was around for the past decade. And he'd given his word to KluYa to look after his children if he found them . . . well, he'd done the best he could. Julia had done what he couldn't. As long as someone did . . .  
Without another word to her, he got up and quietly left. Julia had hated good-byes for as long as he could remember, and he didn't want to antagonize her now.   
He wondered what had become of the other child.  
  
  
)---------- Cecil ----------(  
(Also Choosing Sides)  
  
Feeling like he was in a daze, Cecil went and left Kain where he was, heading for his room. He had a lot to think about, he realized, that he should have dealt with a long time ago.  
"Cecil!"  
A little startled, Cecil turned and saw Rosa coming up to him.  
"You're not hurt?" she inquired, looking him over. "I was so anxious."  
Cecil snorted with contempt.  
"We weren't hurt. How could we be? The Wizards didn't even raise their hands."  
He didn't really want to deal with her prying, and turned to continue on.  
"Cecil!"  
Of course, as always, she wasn't going to let it slide.  
"Can I see you later?"  
Cecil's heart did a flip-flop, although he wasn't exactly sure why.  
"Yeah," he mumbled. "Later." He didn't want to talk. He needed to think.  
Rosa left, going on her way, and he did likewise.  
"Cecil!"  
For cryin' out loud, now what?!?!  
Looking around for the source of the voice, he saw Cid waving.  
Probably wants to make sure I didn't wreck another Airship.  
Indeed, the moment Cid bounded down beside him, the first thing out of his mouth was, "How's my Airship doing?" Then he frowned, looking at Cecil closely.  
Cecil was getting sick of everyone examining him.  
" . . . What's wrong?"  
Sighing, not wanting to get into it but knowing he had no choice, Cecil explained to him what had just happened.  
"What?!"  
Cid did not appear to be happy.  
"Who's gonna command the Redwings then?"  
Yeah, we all know where Cid's priorities lie.  
"I don't know what the King's thinking," Cid continued, choosing his words carefully. "He ordered me to make an Airship, but I don't want it to be used as a weapon!"  
Cecil nodded, knowing well what he meant. The Airships were supposed to be the means by which Baron could end the war. Now that their purpose had been ended, the fact that construction was still being done at full speed, and the Airships were suddenly being turned to more dour purposes was really making Cid upset. And with good reason.  
Sir Rorunar wouldn't have liked it either.  
Cid shook himself and brightened up a bit.  
"Well, I gotta go home. I've been working all night, and my daughter is worried about me."  
He left, and Cecil wondered that he never mentioned his wife anymore. Then he continued up to his room, feeling that at that moment, he really didn't even want to think about what was going on in Cid's family.  
Cid's mother, one of the Castle Maids, almost ran him down.  
"I've changed the sheets," she informed him in her bustling manner. "Leaving early tomorrow morning, Sir? Good night."  
Cecil grimaced. She knew he hated it when she called him "Sir".  
Finally shutting his door and plopping into bed with a certain degree of relief, he turned things over in his mind.  
What exactly had just happened? That morning, things were just as they'd been for . . . well, however long they'd been that way. He was Captain of the Redwings, the King's personal Secret Service, mortal enemies with an old friend, and struggling faintly with a pang of guilt that haunted him everytime he let it.  
Now, let's see. He'd been relieved of his command, the King was torked, Kain had, for some reason, stood up for him, and he couldn't shake the haunting memory of what had happened that day. Not for anything.  
He sighed.  
"What's happened to His Majesty?" he mumbled out loud. The King had always been stupid and belligerent, but never malevolent. "The Crystal of Mysidia . . . did we really have to snatch it from peace-loving people?" Maybe the Techie'd had a point.  
Most haunting in his memory was the White Wizard, the young woman who had been so frightened by their approach, who had begged them to leave, to not harm anyone else.  
And what had they done?  
Taken her down, and brought her back to Baron as a prisoner. She was most likely in the dungeons now, with the other two.  
And why? Why?  
She was so much like . . . Rosa.  
Cecil clenched his fists to his sides.  
"Never again!" he vowed aloud. Then he added, in a lower tone, "Even if ordered."   
In which case, it would be treason of the highest order for him.  
But he found that he didn't really care anymore.  
  
Most of the journey was made in silence by them both. Cecil felt that he should say something, but couldn't think of a single way to start, so he thought it would be best if he just held his tongue.  
The trip to Misty Cave took considerably longer than he'd figured. All the Airship travel had spoiled him, he realized.  
The silence was almost smothering. But, as he reasoned, Kain had rammed his own way into this, if he had something to say, let him start the dialogue.  
And he did.   
There had been quite a few monsters on the path they'd taken, and after about the fourth or fifth battle, he stopped walking and looked at Cecil.  
Cecil stopped also, feeling nervous.  
Kain tapped his foot for a long moment, then sighed.  
"Listen, Cecil," he began in a slightly curt tone, "we haven't been on the best of terms. I don't want to get into that, and I won't. But if we're going to be fighting together, then we have to trust each other."  
Cecil nodded.  
"You're right."  
He felt he should go on, but couldn't think of anything to say. Kain didn't either, and they continued walking.  
  
"Jeez!" Kain exclaimed as they entered the Cave. "Now I see why they call this the Misty Cave!"  
"Ugh," Cecil replied, squinting. The fog was pretty thick, but his eyes adjusted slowly. "Can we go on?"  
Kain sneezed.  
"Like we have a choice. King's orders, and all. Y'know, both under his thumb."  
Cecil glanced at him, trying to detect any malice that may have been in his tone, but the Dragoon's face held no contempt. In fact, he was grinning slightly, which startled Cecil all the more.  
"Well," Kain said, raising his eyebrows and waving his thumbs around for added effect. "Are we going?"  
And they proceeded inward.  
"Go back . . . !"  
That stopped them.  
Kain glanced quickly at Cecil, who frowned and glanced back.  
"Who is it?" he called.  
No response came, so he shrugged and continued on. Kain followed, looking a little uncertain.  
The voice, whoever it was, didn't seem to have anything else to say. After all, they were almost to the exit, surely they could make it out without further incident.  
"Leave now . . . !"  
Or maybe not.  
"Is it a monster?" Kain speculated.  
"Ones from Baron . . . "  
"Who are you?!" Kain snapped into the darkness, looking quite unhappy.  
Kain never did like to be left in the dark, Cecil reflected.  
"Return now and I will not harm you."  
Cecil winced. Wrong answer.   
"Show up!" Kain demanded, infuriated by the confident threat.  
"Do you still wish to go on?"  
The voice seemed almost plaintive. Cecil decided now was the time to step in.  
"We must deliver this package to the Village Mist!" he informed the voice.  
For a moment, there was silence, as if the voice were considering what to do.  
"Then I must!"  
"I don't like the sound of that," Kain informed him in a whisper.  
The next moment, they were both blown off their feet by the rush of the fog in the cave coming together and forming -  
"What the heck is that?!" Cecil exclaimed.  
"It's a Mist Dragon!" Kain told him. He jumped back to his feet. "C'mon - we have to fight!"  
The Dragon attacked, emphasizing Kain's words.  
And so they fought it. It was probably one of the hardest battles Cecil had ever fought, he later reflected. They won, though, without too too much damage, and hurried out of the Cave.  
This place was freaky.  
  
***  
  
A jolt ran through his body. Cecil could feel it.   
He opened his eyes, suddenly realizing that they were closed.  
And he was lying down.  
Huh?  
What the -   
Rosa was sitting beside him.  
Rosa?  
"Cecil!" she exclaimed, reaching forward and grabbing his hands. "How do you feel?"  
He blinked.  
What was going on? A moment ago, he'd been with Kain, just leaving the Misty Cave. How had he gotten here - to his own room? He suddenly realized. Only things were different than how he'd left them . . .  
He looked up at Rosa, confused.  
And she was wearing a crown.  
  
)---------- Cid ----------(  
(The Hovercraft)  
  
"So," Cid told Veronica, dropping the diagrams in front of her, "this is what they sent us."  
She raised an eyebrow and turned her dark red eyes to the paper, looking it over.  
"They called this a what?"  
"A Hovercraft," Cid reminded her. "The plans came from Damcyan - they're begging for help, because their Engineering staff just isn't up to par with ours."  
"Oh, I could've told them that. No one's is," she absently said, still looking over the paper. "So, you're showing this to me because . . . . "  
"Because, Veronica, you have a better understanding for things like this than anyone else in the staff. I know, I've been watching you all," he informed her. "I'm sure this thing is decipherable, and we can get a plan that makes sense up to Damcyan for them, but I'm gonna need a hand with it. You know, being Head Engineer keeps me pretty busy."  
"Ha!" she snapped lightly. "You just never have anything useful to do, so you occupy yourself with enigma diagrams from other Kingdoms. Why, I'm amazed you haven't stolen away to Eblan to copy their catapult designs."  
Cid grimaced.  
"The idea has been proposed."  
"You're kidding."  
"Not by me, but it's been proposed."  
Veronica sighed.  
"You're all crazy. You know that, right?"  
Cid grinned.  
"And you joined us. What's that say about you?"  
She blinked.  
"Nothing we didn't both already know, dear Cid."  
He was about to give her a biting reply, but was cut off by the emergency bell ringing through the Kingdom.  
"What now?" he muttered under his breath as the two of them headed for the door to find out what was going on.  
"Hey!" Veronica called, catching hold of a frantic walker. "What's going on?!"  
He blinked at her.  
"The King is dead!"  
"No way!"  
"Yes way!"  
He turned to hurry on his way, and charged right in front of a wagon, forcing it into the other side of the street, where there were wagons coming the other way. Rather than getting out of the way of the wagon, he just stood there in front of it, gawking, until the driver yelled at him and he moved, letting the wagon get back on his side of the road and out of the crazed traffic.  
Veronica shook her head.  
"People like that give walkers bad names," she informed Cid.  
Cid shook his head.  
"We've got far more important things to worry about now," he reminded her. "If the King is dead, then that stupid Prince . . . "  
Veronica groaned.  
"Oh, crud. This sucks!"  
  
***  
  
"Sucks? I've got another word for it entirely," Cid mumbled. Then he frowned. Then he opened his eyes and sat up.  
Merny, his daughter, sat beside him, glaring at him.  
"Another word for what?" she asked in a concerned tone.  
Cid frowned deeper.  
"Huh? Wh - what happened? What's going on?"  
Merny grinned slightly.  
"Dad, that's just like you. Stay unconscious for three days, and forget all about it . . . "  
Cid rubbed his head.  
"What are you talking about? I was just chatting with Verny . . . where is she, anyway? What's going on? What about the King?"  
Suddenly blinking with concern, Merny seemed uncertain to say what he was about to hear.  
"Dad . . . don't you remember anything?"  
"I remember - the last thing I remember was hearing that the King died, and some stupid walker almost causing a big wreck right in the middle of the City."  
"Oh my . . . "  
"Merny, what's going on? How did I get here? You say I was out for three days? Well, what happened? Is Veronica okay?"  
"Dad . . . Veronica's dead. She's been dead for almost half a year now."  
"What?!"  
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Merny seemed to be thinking deeply.   
"Relax, Dad, I know exactly what you're going through. It was the same thing when I woke up . . . your memory will return. Now just rest."  
  
)---------- Kain ----------(  
(Golbez)  
  
It didn't take long for them to reach the Village once the Cave was cleared.  
Kain was humming a song that was stuck in his head, but that he couldn't quite place.  
Don't you just hate it when that happens?  
He was debating over what would happen when they returned to Baron. What to do with Cecil. The poor guy . . . Rosa was right. He was just so far under the King's spell, it was amazing to think he'd actually stood up for himself a moment the night before.  
Cecil needed help. He knew that. Cecil had needed help for a long time, but Kain had turned against him when he needed that help most.  
Some best friend he'd turned out to be.  
"Here we are," Cecil informed him as they entered the Village.  
Kain nodded silently, not feeling a need to comment.  
"CC-crud!!" came Cecil's astonished shout.  
Turning, Kain was just in time to see the package Cecil held burst open and release a horde of Fireballs into the Village -  
"What?!" he exclaimed, as the Fireballs quickly latched onto the structures of the Village, burning everything in sight.  
Cecil stood frozen.  
"We've brought this package to . . . " He trailed off, weakly.  
"Burn the village?" Kain completed, feeling his world rocked.  
This must've been about what happened a year ago, he suddenly realized. Cecil had been sent to kill off Rorunar and his people, but maybe he hadn't even realized it until -   
Cecil took a dazed step forward, looking around as the Village continued to burn.  
He shook his head slowly, eyes wide.  
"Why?" he whispered.  
Kain opened his mouth to say something, but then a tiny voice reached them.  
"Mommy! Mommy!"  
Cecil snapped back to his senses.  
"Who's that?" he asked.  
Kain shrugged, and they both trailed the crying to the source.  
The source was a little girl kneeling beside a still form on the ground.  
Her mother, Kain realized.   
They had just killed a little girl's mother.  
She looked up, knocking back her tears at the sight of them.  
"My Mom's dragon fell so my Mom did too . . . " she sniffled.  
A light-bulb went on over Kain's head.  
"I've heard of people with the power to summon monsters," he said hurriedly. "They are Callers!"  
Cecil blinked, not asking how he'd heard. Kain was glad. He'd heard all about them from Sir Rorunar . . . who had insisted that schooling continue for all younger members of his army, so as to avoid having any "idiots" under his command: "You've all heard of Espers, haven't you? Think, for once!"  
"We defeated the dragon," Cecil realized, "so her mother is gone also."  
Kain turned to him in shock, apparently as unable to comprehend this as he himself was.  
The girl registered what he'd said and took a horrified step back away.  
They turned to her.  
"You!" she snarled. "You've beaten my mother's Dragon!" She screamed with the fury of a heartbroken child, which she was.  
Cecil tried to calm her down.  
"We didn't mean to do this to your mother," was all he could say.  
And what could he say? That they'd both been duped, and thus killed off her people?  
Kain was familiar with the fury she felt. It wasn't going to be as easy as that.  
He turned to Cecil.  
"His Majesty wanted to wipe out the Callers of this Village and used us to do it."  
"Incredible!" was all Cecil could think to say, as if he couldn't believe this had happened to him. Again.  
Kain swallowed, knowing that whatever happened now would determine the fate of both of them.  
"I'm afraid we must do away with her, too," he blandly informed Cecil with practiced nonchalance.  
Cecil looked at him as if he were crazy.  
"Kain!" he objected. "She's just a kid!"  
Kain grinned to himself. Maybe there was just enough of Cecil left in all that black armor to be resurrected.  
"You dare to renounce your loyalty to His Majesty?" he inquired in a severely sweet voice.  
"Forget it!" Cecil yelled with such fury that Kain felt almost winded. "Never again will I follow such an order!"  
Kain was astonished. Cecil was so furious that he actually moved to attack him!  
He took a step back.  
"Well, Cecil," he replied with a relieved tone. Cecil dropped some of his fury and looked confused. "I knew you'd say so." And this time, you didn't let me down . . . Slowly, a grin touched his features. "I won't let you do it alone."  
Cecil frowned, looking more confused every moment.  
"Kain?"  
"I owe His Majesty much," Kain told him, remembering what Rorunar had said to him after Crescent Mountain. "Still, I cannot disgrace the Dragoons."  
Cecil suddenly registered some understanding.  
"Then will you . . . "  
"But Baron is the mightiest country in the world," Kain reminded him. "It's impossible for us to challenge its might alone. We must get other countries to join us." Excepting Mysidia, of course, who may have at once been their best choice in this situation . . . Then another thought his him. Like a ton of bricks. "And you know . . . we must rescue Rosa!"  
Cecil sighed.  
"Thank you, Kain."  
Kain deliberately misunderstood him once more.  
"Not for your sake," he replied with a sudden bitterness. Then he stomped it down. He wouldn't start thinking about Rosa. Not now.  
He took one last look at the remains of the burning Village Mist.  
"Let's get out of here fast!" he suggested, knowing that the King would be sending someone to check their work. "What about that girl?"  
At this, the girl looked back up at them.  
Cecil looked at her.  
"We can't leave her here alone!" he stated.  
True - she wouldn't survive if they left her here.  
They took a step closer to her, not wanting to alarm her.  
"Listen," Cecil told her in a consoling tone. "It's dangerous here. Come with us . . . okay?"  
"No!" was her simple reply. She backed away from them, looking scared.  
Kain knew they had to hurry, or none of them would get out of this burning Village without being scalded to death. So, dashing all caution, he went up to the girl.  
"Let's take her!" he told Cecil.  
Cecil nodded, understanding the hurry.  
The girl, however, did not.  
"No!" she repeated. "Go away!"  
She backed away farther, as if to run.  
"Wait!" Cecil exclaimed. "Please!"  
They tried to catch her.  
"Go away!" she repeated, stamping her foot. "I hate you! I hate you all!"  
Kain winced, recognizing the words. How freely such things seemed to flow after the loss of a loved one . . .  
But there was no time. They had to get her, and they had to get out.  
The pair of them tried to catch her and drag her out by force if they had to. She'd calm down later, and they could take her somewhere safe -  
Unfortunately, the girl seemed to have other ideas.  
As they closed in on her, Kain realized that she was chanting something under her breath. Before he could stop to think, a green light filled the air, and the ground shook with a sudden impact.  
Turning in shock, he saw - what the heck?   
What was -  
Whatever it was, it shook the Earth again, and Kain felt his footing disappear, and his head crack against the ground with added force that dazed him. Looking up through the stars in his vision, he saw the creature raise his foot to stomp the ground again.  
When it did, it was the last thing Kain was aware of.  
  
How much later it was when he awoke, he didn't know. And when he did, the pain in his head almost knocked him right back out again.  
He tried to raise his head to look around, but after just a moment had to let it fall back to the ground. The world still seemed to be shaking and spinning all around him.  
Just be still . . . wait for your balance to return . . .  
" . . . Cecil?"  
No reply came.  
Again, he forced himself to raise his head, then managed to prop himself up on one arm and look around.  
The ruin of the Village was near, he could see it. But past it, and quite near him, was the aftermath of some avalanche. Most likely, brought down by that monster the little girl had Summoned.  
Cecil . . . he and the girl were nowhere in sight. He wondered . . . maybe they were on the other side.  
"Well, good morning, Kain," came a cheerful voice that hurt his head.  
Turning sharply and then wincing as the movement increased the throbbing in his skull, Kain winced again at who he saw standing near him.  
Baigan, of course.  
And behind him, one of the Airships.  
They must've come to make sure the job was finished.  
"Morning," he greeted in a sullen and painridden tone. "Happen out here often?"  
Baigan was having none of it.  
Reaching down and grabbing Kain, he pulled him to his feet, holding him by the collar of his armor.  
"Where's Cecil?" he demanded.  
Kain shrugged.  
"Dunno."  
Baigan released him, and he collapsed back down on the ground.  
Jeez, he felt so weak . . .  
"We'll find him," he was told. "And you . . . you may just serve us a greater purpose."  
Kain didn't like the sound of that.  
A Black Wizard came up behind him, chanting a spell with much care.  
"SLEEP," he concluded, and Kain watched the world once again go dark.  
  
The next time he woke up, it was without the pain, but with far more of the confusion.  
He was tied up in an odd chair in an odd room. A room that seemed to be made totally of crystal and machinery.  
Before him stood a strange man he'd never seen, dressed in a gaudy blue getup. Everything about this man seemed to be shrouded in darkness, but one thing shone through it. His blazing green eyes.  
"Hello, Kain," he greeted. "At last we meet, face to face. My name is Golbez. I'm certain we will be good friends."  
"You have quite a way with your friends, then," Kain replied, nodding to his bound hands and feet.  
The one calling himself Golbez laughed.  
"Well, you see, not just yet."  
Kain frowned.  
"Who are you?"  
"I told you."  
"You told me your name. You didn't tell me who you are."  
Golbez laughed again.  
"You'll find out soon enough, Dragoon. Let me just say this. You didn't like the King much, did you?"  
Kain wasn't sure where this was going.  
"No comment? Well, the King works for me."  
Kain blinked, startled.  
Golbez waved his hand around, taking in the structure they were in.  
"Welcome to the Tower of Zot! My home, that of my Elemental Fiends, and yours as well, once you are sworn to my service!"  
"Erm . . . did I miss something here?"  
"Your pal Cecil made off with one of the Callers. That concerns me, because it threatens my position. Since I don't like threats much, I'm just going to have to do away with them both. And you, you are going to help me in my conquest of the world."  
Kain fought against his bounds.  
"Um, no. No, I don't think so."  
"Oh, don't even try to escape. The ropes are enchanted. You can't break them." Golbez grinned. "Now let's just see how difficult it is to break you."  
Kain glared at him.  
"Shove it," he snapped. "I didn't like the King, and I'm sure I like you even less. I don't know exactly what your game is, but don't count on me being a part of it."  
Golbez didn't say anything, but Kain could feel the tingle in the air that signified a magical spell of enormous magnitude. Something was happening.  
Everything seemed to glow.  
From deep within, Kain could feel all the anger and hatred which he'd been breeding for the past year welling up and exploding throughout him.  
He felt a sudden urge to destroy.  
Destroy. Cecil.  
. . . No . . . he fought it down. No, he'd been through this. He'd just finally managed to do away with all that hatred -  
Or had he?  
He shook his head as he felt the brainwashing spell begin to settle in.   
It couldn't.  
He wouldn't let it.  
Golbez seemed impressed. And the tingle shot through the air again.  
All of Kain's negative emotions and stubborn will turned inward, molding themselves. Golbez. Golbez was his master. He had to serve him - it was the only way he'd ever get his revenge . . .  
No, no, he had to stand against it - Golbez was warping his mind to his own purposes -  
But the power of his own anger was overcoming him.  
"So tell me," Golbez suggested in a light tone, "exactly what would be the best way to get at this great Cecil?"  
Kain seethed at him, but bit his tongue against any words.  
The magical tingle filled the air once more.  
Kain felt what was left of his own mentality leave him.  
"Rosa," he said. "Get Rosa. Cecil loves her." I love her. "He'll come back for her." But she'll be mine. Finally. She'll be mine.  
  
***  
  
"Can't you keep him still? He's going to hurt himself!!"  
"Me?! You're the White Mage around here!"  
"Like you're not?! You're his friend! You calm him down! He's thrashing like crazy!"  
"No he's not! He just stopped, so calm down yourself!"  
The voices rang through his mind, and his own consciousness cut back through. Through this brainwashing process.  
They'd almost had him. Almost. But now - now he'd retained himself somehow.  
How? What had just happened?  
Who was talking?  
"Is he waking up?"  
Feeling thoroughly upset with the treatment this Golbez character was giving him, he opened his eyes and prepared to give whoever it was a few choice words, but halted frozen.  
"Rosa?"  
"Kain!"  
She sat down on the edge of the bed.  
Bed?  
Kain looked around. He was no longer in Zot.  
Cecil rushed across the room to join her.  
Cecil?  
Kain squeezed his eyes closed a few times, wondering if he was delirious.  
"Kain," Rosa said, "how are you feeling? Okay?"  
"Huh?" was all he could think to say.  
"Cut that out!" snapped someone else. Turning, he saw a Ninja floating above him. "Wake up, man! It's about time!! Now hurry, before it's too late!!"  
Kain shook his head.  
Huh?  
"Kain." This was Cecil talking. "I know how you feel, it was the same way when I woke up. Um, do you know where you are?"  
Kain looked around again.  
"Yeah. This is my room."  
"Yes. It is. D-do you know who we are?"  
Kain squinted at them.  
"You look like Cecil and Rosa, only you're dressed up like the King and Queen."  
Cecil and Rosa exchanged a look.  
"Erm, we are," Rosa told him.  
" ? "  
"It'll all come back."  
"If you say so. Who's that?" He pointed at the floating Ninja.  
The Ninja looked astounded.  
"What do you mean, who am I?!?! You idiot, how could you've forgotten?!"  
Cecil frowned.  
"Um, there's no one there, Kain."  
"Wait," Rosa interceded, "it may be Edge. Remember, only Kain can see him."  
"Who's Edge?" Kain demanded, frustrated.  
"What's the last thing you remember?" Cecil inquired.  
Kain raised an eyebrow.  
"Being brainwashed. How . . . what happened?"  
Cecil shook his head.  
"Don't worry. It'll come back to you. It's the same way with everyone when they first wake up - they lose their memory from the last thing in their flashback through the point where they lost consciousness. But it'll come back."  
"Huh?"  
Cecil smiled.  
"Relax. Just give it a couple of hours or so."  
"NO!" shouted the Ninja. "We don't have a couple of hours to spare!! They're already on their way!!!!!"  
"Um . . . there's a floating Ninja who says we don't have time."  
Rosa frowned.  
"What's he saying, exactly?"  
The Ninja looked at her for a moment.  
"Tell her that Kormag launched the Falcon a few hours ago. They intend to attack at Midnight tonight, as a symbol of the Year's End."  
Kain blinked and repeated that to Rosa, who winced.  
"Great. That's all we need."  
Cecil frowned.  
"They're launching an Airship in this weather? But the propellers'll freeze! They won't make it!"  
"YES THEY WILL!!!!" the Ninja shouted.  
"He says they will," Kain blandly told them.  
Cecil used a few choice words than cannot be repeated in a PG fic.  
"We've gotta go," he told Kain, regret lacing his tone. "Euh - we'll be back as soon as we can. Don't push it - just concentrate on getting your memories back. You'll be all right."  
He and Rosa turned and hurried from the room.  
Kain frowned up at the floating Ninja.  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
The Ninja sighed.  
  
  



	11. In Which, Rydia exceeds her natural abil...

9)---------- In Which, Rydia exceeds her natural abilities

9)---------- In Which, Rydia exceeds her natural abilities.

Rydia stirred and awoke slowly, stretching her stiff limbs and yawning.Then she shook her head and looked around.

She'd been lying asleep, sheltered, wrapped up in one of Bahamut's wings.

Noticing her movement, he turned to regard her.

"You can't do it," he shortly informed her.

She frowned.

"Who says?" she snapped, yawning again.

"No one has to say anything.You couldn't even complete the spell for a trial without passing out halfway through."

Yawning one last time, Rydia though about that.

"Oh . . . is that why I was asleep."

"Yes, I didn't see any point in waking you.Figured you'd do better if allowed to recover from the drain."

"The drain.Hm.The drain of the DRAIN.Funny."

"Thank you," Bahamut replied graciously, flicking her out of his wing and onto her feet.

"How long have I been out?"

"Around three days.Here, eat something."He nodded his head towards a large bundle on the ground.

Looking inside, Rydia found that it was cram-jammed full of food.

"Where did this come from?" she asked, pulling out a banana.

Bahamut shrugged.

"A group of Yokels came up here sometime yesterday from a nearby Village.Something about, 'Please, don't eat the Maiden, accept our offering instead.' "

Rydia grinned.

"They thought you were going to eat me?"

"Apparently so."

"Yokels.Hm.You don't eat Maidens."Then she looked up."Do you?"

Bahamut cocked his head at her.

"Oh, I have.If the situation calls for it."

For a moment, Rydia lost her appetite.But then it came back, and she ate the banana.

"Anyway, you can't do it," he repeated.

She swallowed quickly.

"I've gotta try, though," she told him."You taught me the spell, thank you kindly, now I have to go knock myself out and use it."

"Knocking yourself out is all you'll do," Bahamut informed her, shaking his head."I should've known from the start.I just figured that since you have such a mastery over black magic, that you might be able to handle it.But it exceeds your natural abilities."

Rydia shrugged.

"That doesn't change what I have to do."

Bahamut sighed inwardly.Why was this girl always out trying to kill herself . . .

"You're still determined to go through with this?" he asked.

She nodded, her mouth too full to reply.

He sighed outwardly.

"Then I suppose I should give you a ride to Eblan."

"Would you?"

"I suppose.Tell me, do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

She shrugged.

"I've gotta find Masamune.Then I DRAIN it, then I find out from Edge exactly what's going on."

"The Airship left a few hours ago."

Rydia dropped the muffin she'd been about to eat.

"What?"

"They took off in Baron's direction."

Picking up the muffin with a grim expression, Rydia said, "Then I guess we don't have much time."

"It also means their defenses will be down."

Rydia glanced up at him with a grin, catching his meaning.

"True.Very true."

A few minutes later, they took to the air, heading back to Eblan.Rydia still couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.Bahamut really didn't think she'd be able to pull off the DRAIN9 spell, and she wasn't very certain of her ability herself.Still, she knew she had to give it a try.

The Kingdom appeared in the distance, and quickly grew closer.A quick glance confirmed what she'd been told - the _Falcon_ was nowhere in sight.

"Hang on," the great Dragon told her smugly.

Without waiting to give her a chance to do so, he dived down low over the City and construction camps, scaring the Yokels.Then he swooped back, almost straight up.

"Still there?" he asked her in a jubilant tone.

"Nope!"

"Good!Now for the Castle!Get ready to drop off!"

"Right!"

While the Yokels continued panicking and rioting, Bahamut soared amiably over to the Castle and hovered for a moment.

A group appeared on the main balcony as Rydia watched.She managed to pick out the Cook among them, but Kormag was not.

"Hang on," Bahamut told her again, and turned sharply, swooping down almost into the Castle, the force of his wings knocking the group off the balcony and into the moat.He veered back up, then back down, this time pausing enough to let Rydia disembark.

Without giving her a word or waiting for one, he shot back up into the air, and up into space.

Rydia spared an instant to watch him go, knowing that he'd come again when she next needed him.Then she turned and hurried into the Castle.

Edge had told her how he'd locked Masamune up in the chamber deep in the Castle, so she decided to start there.Chances were, Kormag and his posse would've been unable to remove it from wherever it had landed, so it would still be there.

No one opposed her as she shot through the halls, although she received many hostile looks.The way she figured it, they'd seen that she'd arrived with Bahamut, and no one, _no one_ on this Earth in their right mind wanted Bahamut upset with them.So no one stood in her way.

It took a little time, seeing as how she wasn't very familiar with the corridors of the Castle, but she did eventually locate the chamber Edge had told her about.

And Masamune hovered directly in the center of the room, casting a faint, eerie glow.

It was like they'd first seen it, up below the Lunarian Palace.Without the altar, of course, but other than that . . .

"Masamune," she said curtly, "what have you done with Edge?"

Making no reply, Masamune continued to float silently.

"Masamune," she said again, this time a rough edge to her tone."Don't think I'm just fooling around.I want him back, and I'll do whatever I must to get him!"

The Sword glowed a little darker.

"Do you think to intimidate me, mortal?" it inquired in the same unearthly voice she remembered.

She glared straight at it.

"Yes," she replied.

The door to the chamber slammed shut behind her.For a moment, everything was in total darkness.

After a moment though, her eyes adjusted.The first thing she realized was that she was _not_ in the chamber of Castle Eblan any longer.

"Where are we?" she demanded of Masamune, who remained hovering a few feet in front of her.

"Your final resting place," it informed her, beginning to glow with a faint green tinge.

Realizing that it was revving up to do some mischief to her, Rydia clenched her teeth and began chanting the spell she'd been taught by Bahamut.

It was almost a race between the two of them - to see who could finish their spell first.

As she reached the halfway mark of her chanting, she felt her legs begin to give way beneath her.

_No - that's what happened with Bahamut, and I lost consciousness for three days.I've gotta finish the spell . . ._

And so she kept chanting.Her vision began to fade, and all feeling to her limbs was lost, but somehow, she remained conscious, she remained standing, and she finished the spell.

"_DRAIN9!!!_" she finally cried, ending the chant, and watching as the magic took effect.

The green light shot out from her and converged on Masamune, attacking it.

Masamune emitted a strange, strangled sound, as the spell spasmodically drained its energy.

And, as Rydia watched, her senses fading from weakness, a tremor ran through it, and then a bolt of white light shot out and into the air.This light solidified and took on the form of the Ninja she was seeking.

Masamune fell to the floor with a clank.

Edge fell to the floor with a strange sound, sort of like an "au" with a French accent, completely unconscious.

Rydia rushed over to him, stumbling on her weak legs.

"Edge . . . " she sighed, falling to her knees beside him.Reaching for his neck, she checked for a pulse, and found that he was still alive.

That was good.Alive is good.

The room whirled, and she allowed herself to give in to the weakness which was assaulting her, collapsing, her head on Edge's chest.

Completely unconscious.

That was bad.Unconscious was bad.

Kain was oblivious to what had just happened to Rydia with Masamune.All he knew was that the floating Ninja he'd been chatting with suddenly made an odd squeaking noise, convulsed, and vanished.

Now, with his memory returning, he realized that he should be with Cecil and Rosa trying to figure out what to do now, not lying around thinking.

So he got up and sought them out.

Cecil was pacing frantic circles around the Throne Room while Rosa was plopped in one of the thrones, rubbing her temples.

Uriat was going on about some meaningless stuff.

" . . . if you'd only listened to me, but no, you didn't.Which is, of course, your right, Your Majesties, but now we have little choice but to mobilize an attack force against the Eblanians and strike at them before they strike at us, and destroy their Kingdom once and for all, or else they'll just - "

"Uriat, don't you ever shut up?" Kain sourly asked, pushing his way through the ajar door."Cecil, Rosa, Edge's gone.I think something's going on over there."

Rosa frowned.

"Maybe Masamune released him."

"I don't know, but it didn't seem very pleasant when it happened."Kain leaned against a wall, still feeling a little weak, but much more himself.

"What about you?Is your memory back?" Cecil inquired in a stressed-out tone.

Kain nodded.

"I think.For the most part.It's still coming, but I'll be all right."Uriat glared at him.Kain glared back."Leave!" he snapped.

Uriat glanced to Cecil for protection, but the King just turned to gawk at a rather lovely wall hanging and ignored.

Sulking, the Chancellor stalked past Kain and out the door.

"I thought you were going to fire that guy," he reminded Rosa.

She shrugged.

"Now isn't exactly a good time.We will when we're not involved in a crisis."

"Ah."That made sense."So, do we have a plan?"

Cecil shrugged.

"What can we do?We have to wait for them to arrive and defend the Kingdom.I don't want to attack unless they fire first, but the second they do . . . "

The three of them exchanged a worried glance.

It seemed almost as if a new war between the two nations was inevitable.

Edge slowly awakened, every nerve in his body rebelling against him.

_Yaa-aach . . . pain._

Masamune was a Sword.This meant that it was very, very thin.He was not built to be sucked in and out of it like this!

Grinding his teeth against the agony that was his body, he tried to will himself to get up, or at least open his eyes.But some sixth sense told him that he didn't really want to see where he was.

He tried to move his left hand, but found that either he was even weaker than he thought (which was pretty weak) or something was holding it down.As a test, he moved his right, which obeyed him with no resistance, if a lot of aches.

Letting his hand drop, he forced himself to open his eyes and look around.

The place was somewhat familiar to him - he was in one of the caverns beneath the Castle.He'd seen most of them before - and all those discovered had been furnished with an exit, because most of them were found quite by accident.Some gardener poking around the gardens suddenly feels the ground open beneath him and falls a few hundred feet . . . poor guy.If he lived, he called for help, and someone got him out.If not, then they removed the body and dealt with it.The holes were sealed up, but there were passageways leading to and from each of them from the surface.

So why was he here?

He lifted his head and dropped it almost instantly with surprise.Then he lifted it again.

No, he wasn't delirious.

There, lying unconscious beside him, her head resting on his chest, was a hot chick with green hair.

_Wow.Cool._

That was the first thing that jumped into his mind.Then he started thinking, though.

Why was he here?Why was Rydia here?Why was she unconscious?Why had _he_ been unconscious?

The memory floated back into his throbbing brain.

Masamune.He'd been in Masamune.

How had he gotten out?Had Rydia done something . . . 

Hey, did that mean she liked him?

Then it struck him.

Kormag was on his way to attack Baron.

Lightly, he tapped her on the head with his right hand.

"Rydia," he called in a faint voice."Wake up?"

She stirred.

"Rydia, please wake up.I . . . we have to go save the world.But I can't do anything until you get off."

Groaning slightly, she pushed herself up and shook her head.Then she rubbed her eyes and looked around.

"Edge!" she exclaimed, kneeling over him."Crud, are you all right?!"

"No," he replied.Then a wave of fury passed over him, and he used its strength to push himself to his feet."C'mon.We've gotta find a way to get to Cecil and the others . . . "

She pushed herself to her feet, seeming pretty weak herself.He wondered exactly what she had done.

Masamune was lying on the floor.

He glanced at it for a moment, then picked it up without hesitation.

It didn't respond.

"Good boy," he muttered.Then he looked at Rydia."How could we get to Baron?"

"I can Call Bahamut," she replied."He can give us a ride . . . but first we have to get out of _here._"

"This way," he told her, stumbling over to where he knew the exit to be.Halfway through the corridor, however, he had to stop, leaning against the wall to keep himself upright.

Rydia came up beside him and grasped his arm.

"Keep going," she murmured, supporting him as they continued."We'll make it."

After what seemed like an hour, and quite possibly was, they reached the surface.

"Sit for a minute - get your strength back," Rydia absently told him as she began her incantation to Summon Bahamut.

He happily let himself slide to the ground, too weak to feel embarrassed by his weakness.As soon as all this was over, he was _so_ getting some sleep . . .


	12. In Which, Cid finds out he's royalty.

10)---------- In Which, Cid finds out he's royalty

10)---------- In Which, Cid finds out he's royalty.

"He said they're going to attack at midnight," Kain reminded Cecil and Rosa, who were both slumped in their thrones with unhappy looks on their faces."Until then, all we can do is wait."

Cid pushed open the doors to come in and join them.

"Hey, guys," he greeted."What's up?"

"Eblan's attacking," Cecil told him.

That sobered him up.

"Oh," he replied.

Cami and Lori peeked in the room.

"Um," Cami began.

"Get in here if you're coming," Rosa lightly told him.For the three days when Cecil and Kain had been out, Cami had been her right hand man.She was getting to like the kid.

"Hey," Kain greeted them.

"Sir, hey, Sir!" they greeted back with a degree of relief to see him back.

"Eblan's attacking," Kain told them, noting that their relief quickly vanished, replaced by a semblance of panic.Monsters were one thing.Invaders were another.

"What should we do?" Lori asked, being the first of the two to recover.

"Go rouse our people," he replied."Let them know to be on their toes.We're looking at a midnight arrival, so make sure everyone's ready."

"Yes, Sir!" they chimed, turned and heading out.

"Just like old times," Cid sighed, looking at the other three."If they don't get here till midnight, what do we do in the meantime?"

Cecil shrugged.Rosa stared at him blankly.Kain blinked and turned to gawk at a rather lovely wall hanging.

"Okay, we can do that," Cid replied, getting the hint.He shuddered."So . . . how'd everyone like their little jot down memory lane?"

Kain cringed, and Cecil threw up.

They'd never actually gotten around to resolving the incident that had claimed Sir Rorunar . . . it was still an open wound, and it had just been poked.And Cid could tell.

"All right, listen you two!" he snapped."You're both adults now, I think you can manage to get over whatever it is that had you at each other's throats!"

"Then why don't you tell Cecil about the mission his father left for him that you got a kick out of chatting with my mother about in the middle of the night?!" Kain snapped back.

Cecil blinked.

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Rosa repeated."Okay, I guess the three of you have a lot to think about now, which just makes me glad I stayed conscious through the whole thing.However, I don't think it's a good idea to be shouting about it in the Throne Room!What about the Royal Eavesdroppers?!"

"What time is it?" Kain asked curtly.

Rosa blinked.

"About seven.Why?"

Kain jabbed a finger at Cecil.

"We need to talk," he flatly stated.

"Rosa, run the Kingdom," Cecil told her, getting up and following Kain out the door."And Cid, I'll grill you next!"

Cid didn't reply, which was okay, because Cecil didn't wait around for an answer.

"Yee-hee-hee," Rosa giggled."The power . . . "

Cid shook his head.Somehow, he was glad Rosa didn't often run the Kingdom.The pressure seemed to do strange things to her . . .

"Cecil," Kain said as they both burst out onto the top of the main tower, "I'm sorry."

"No," Cecil adamantly contradicted, "_I'm sorry!"_

"No," Kain snapped, "I'm sorry, and here's why."He paused to take a deep breath."I never gave you a friggin' chance!We both know I had problems after we fought Zeromus, and you never let up on me about it.You actually hounded me to my grave _twice_ on the matter before I finally came to terms about it.Now, while it was aggravating to me at the time, it was a good thing you did, and if I'd had any heart at all, I would've done the same thing to you when you needed it, but instead I was so caught up with blaming the whole thing on you in my own grief over the matter, I never gave you a chance, and treated you like dirt.To put it mildly.Okay, so I almost killed you a couple of times.Sorry about that too."

"Who's to say I didn't deserve it?!" Cecil objected."Who's to say I don't still deserve it?They're still all dead, and it's still my fault.I have not once claimed it wasn't my fault, because I know it was."

"Rorunar himself told you to do the King's orders.I remember it.He said to let him handle it."

"You know Rorunar!You know he just said that so I wouldn't go spastic!"

"So?"

"So?!I killed the guy!!"

"Did you, Cecil?!Because I could never find out for sure.Did you really kill him?!And tell me the truth!"

Cecil swallowed, suddenly finding it difficult to remember exactly what _had happened._

"I didn't drop the bombs," he admitted slowly."But I didn't effectively stop them, either.Baigan did it all.And he was under Golbez' control.Who was under Zemus' control.Who was, in a sense, under Zeromus' control."

"Could you have stopped him?"

"Of course I could've."

"No, really, from the position you were in, could you have stopped him?"

"Yes.But I just sat there too startled - "

"You know, I don't feel it was your fault, Cecil.No more than it was mine.I could've stopped it too, you know.I could've socked out that idiot Aromuth before he did any damage, or better yet, I could've beat Baigan up a little harder when we were in grade school. To the point where he was, say, crippled for life.But neither of us were able to stop him, and what's done is done.Rorunar and all the others are dead, I pinned it all on you, now I realize I was an idiot, and I really wish we could put it all behind us."

"How could we put it all behind us?!"

"You know, Cecil, now you can see what it's like being on the other side of this conversation."

That one stumped Cecil, who remembered trying to give a similar lecture to Kain during the whole Borthus and Valdiar incident.

"Can we just call it even?Because my mother once made me promise to protect you, and that's a little hard to do when we're at odds."

Cecil nodded.

"Fine.Gladly.We're even."He frowned."We both suck, you know that?"

"Cecil, you are weird."

"So are you."

"That established, let's go save the Kingdom."

"Fine by me."Cecil frowned."Your mother made you promise to protect me?"

"Yeah.I think she knew your father.Your Lunarian father.And so did Cid, I think."

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me that before?!" Cecil cried, and Kain suddenly felt a pang of guilt for not mentioning it."Like that day after Cid called me up about that Airship, when you told me to be careful because of something your mother said that you promised not to tell me about?"

"Yeah . . . kinda like that.She did make me promise, and I can tell you I wasn't very happy about it, either."

"Well.I wonder what else she knew."

"A lot, probably.She was Empathic."

"Empathic?!?!Momma was Empathic?!?!?!?!"

Kain grinned at his astonishment.

"Yep.Don't ask me.Go grill Cid."

"I think I will."

"All right, all right!!" 

They both turned as Cid stomped up to them.

"I admit it!Kain, I knew your mother.Cecil, I knew your father.Okay?Okay."

They tapped their feet.

"Not okay, Cid."

"Fine.Cecil, your dad came to Baron when I was a teenager and helped us build the Airships.Try to, at least.That one blew up, as you know.Before that and after, he went to Mysidia to get the Serpent Road moving.Shortly after he had you and Golbez, he headed out to try and track down the evil he'd come to Earth to stop, but as we all know, he didn't make it.So me and Julia, your mother, Kain, took it upon ourselves that if we ever ran into either of you, we'd try and keep you in line.Julia had you under her wing for a while, then Rorunar, and then they left it up to me until you found out the truth.End of story?"

"I doubt it!" Kain brightly replied.

"You're right.One other thing, Cecil, that I think you may want to know.Your mother was my wife's sister, so you may want to go catch up with her sometime - "

"You married my mother's sister?!" Cecil croaked.Then a malicious grin spread across his face."Then . . . doesn't that make you my uncle?"

"Ha!" Kain jibed."Cid, you're Royalty!"He fell to his knees, bowing."All hail, the great Cid!We're not worthy!We're not worthy!We're scum!We - "

"Shut up," Cid snapped.

"So what was my father like?" Cecil asked, somewhat nervously."I mean, was he a good guy, or was he a creep, or what?"

"Cecil," Cid replied, "KluYa was probably the second strangest man I ever met.Second only to your old pal Rorunar.They were both pretty weird.But they were both good people.You'd've liked him, Cecil.And I think he'd've liked you, too."

"Did he have purple hair?" Cecil asked in a tiny voice.

Kain burst out laughing.

Cid gave Cecil a serious look.

"Yes," he replied.

Then he and Cecil joined Kain laughing.

"That explains everything!!!" Cecil exclaimed."C'mon, we've got an attack to prepare for!"

A sound caught Kain's attention, and he glanced over the side of the tower.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, caught totally off guard."Yeah, but an attack from _who?"_

_Falcon was landed at a distance that kept them just out of sight from Baron.Inside, Kormag was chatting business over with a couple of his co-conspirators._

The catapults which had once been a part of Eblan's main fighting force had been reconstructed (in a sense) under Kormag's supervision, without Edge's knowledge, for the past months, waiting for an occasion such as this.A time when Edge was out of the way, and the Airship was at his command.

Ten of them had been installed along the sides of _Falcon, so that they, along with the typical attacks built in, would ensure their victory over Baron that midnight._

"Everything's loaded and ready," the Minister of Defense reported, entering the small Warroom just below the deck."We can take off at a moment's notice, and attack instantly."

Kormag nodded.

"Good.I don't intend to be caught on the ground, but this way we'll be ready in case we do."He frowned."And _where is Agent Five?!?!"_

"He hasn't returned from his mission yet," the Captain of the Guard replied."But he is expected at any time - "

"He was expected an hour ago," Kormag snapped.

A knock came at the door.

"You'd better be Agent Five!" Kormag yelled.

"I am!"

"Fine!Get in here!"

The door swung open, and a man who looked like an ordinary townsperson entered.

"Mission accomplished!" he told Kormag."I've planted the news, and got out as soon as I felt it had circulated.As I left, a revolt was already being considered."

Kormag raised his eyebrows.He'd intended for his bug rumor to cause some unrest, but never a rebellion!

Maybe he should stoop to this sort of tactic more often.

The Minister of Defense glared at the others in the room.

"What's all this?Is this some part of the plan that I hadn't been told about?" he demanded.

Kormag shrugged off his anger.

"Just a little added effect," he explained."It never hurts to have a Kingdom in a little disorder before conquering.So we spread some disorder."

Ten o'clock.

Cecil and Rosa were pacing the Throne Room anxiously.Kain was still held rapt by that rather lovely wall hanging . . . _or so he led them to believe!Isn't that spooky?!?!_

Cid gingerly lifted the window covering with the tips of his finger and peeked out, before snatching his hand back and jumping away from the window.

"I take it they're still there?" Cecil wryly speculated, raising an eyebrow.

Cid only nodded, his teeth chattering.This was spooky.

"I'd say it's over nine tenths of the Kingdom out there now - all with torches and pitchforks."

"Cecil!!" Rosa exclaimed."Don't just stand there!!We're being dethroned!!!Everyone's rebelling!!!!"

"I see that," Cecil reminded her in a blank tone.He turned to Kain."Why the heck is this happening?"

"My people are trying to figure that out," Kain told him for the seventh time since he'd dispatched his seven Dragoon students to ascertain the cause of this unrest.

Cecil pulled at his hair frantically.

"Well heck, we have Eblan attacking at midnight, and at the rate we're going, we may not last that long!!"

The door swung open.

Everyone screamed.

Then they got a grip, though, because it was just Lori.

"Sir!" he exclaimed, running to Cecil, a letter in his hand."The dude at the Inn told me to give you this!Said it was important if you want to keep your Kingdom!"

Cecil snatched the letter from his hand and read it over silently.

Rosa and Cid stared at him steadily as he did so.

Lori backed off and went over to Kain, who pointed out some highlights of the rather lovely wall hanging.

"I don't believe it . . . " Cecil murmured shaking his head. "Really.This is too pathetic to be real."

"What is it?" Rosa asked.

Cecil stared blankly at the paper a moment longer, then scrunched it up in one hand in a sudden fit of anger.He stalked out of the room, grabbing Kain by the helmet on his way out.

Kain, startled, really couldn't do anything but go along.

Rosa, Cid, and Lori watched them go.

"Hm," Cid then said."I think we should see this."They exchanged a look, nodded, and followed.

Cecil burst out on the balcony, still dragging Kain along behind him.

"Okay, people!!" he shouted, turning a little pink from fury."I want to know who's behind this!!!!"

For a moment, the mob was silent, with their torches and pitchforks.

Then someone in the middle spoke up.

"Well, King Cecil, _you're behind it!"_

Cecil finally let go of Kain's head and crossed his arms.

"Am not!" he denied."Because it's not true!I don't know where you all heard this, but it's an all out lie!"

The mob was silent for another moment.

"It's not . . . true?" someone repeated in a weak voice.

"No!" Cecil snapped.

A low murmuring spread through them.

"I don't believe you!" someone yelled."I heard it from a very reliable source!"

"YEAH!!" shouted nearly everyone.

Cecil grabbed onto Kain's head again.

"Well, here's an even more reliable one - me!Because I think I'd know better than your source, agreed?"Only a faint rustle answered.Cecil seethed, then finally lost it."_Look, I'm telling you right out to stop this, because it's all a lie!!!!Kain and I are NOT GAY!!!!!"_

"_What?!?!" Kain yelped, startled into squeaking."They're saying __that?!?!?"_

"Calm down," Cecil told him."I've spazzed out enough for both of us."

"Oh, yeah . . . "For a moment, Kain relaxed.Then he spazzed out again, snatching the letter from Cecil and reading it for himself.

"Prove it!" jeered a Yokel.

Cecil glared at him.

"Just how do you expect me to do that?"

The Yokel frowned, then muttered something and retreated into the crowd of Yokels.

Kain seemed to be in shock.

"Well, I still say you are!And I'm not following a gay king!" declared someone from the back of the mob.

"You there!!!" Kain shouted, pointing at him."_Don't make me come down there!!!!!!"_

They shut up for a moment.No one wanted to cross Kain.

Just then, to save the day, Rosa burst in on the scene.

"Okay, Yokels!" she called with a grin."You think Cecil's gay?Well check this out!!"

And before Cecil knew what was happening, she'd grabbed his shoulders and utterly liplocked him.

Kain whistled.

"You call that gay?" he inquired, pointing at the couple.

"Oh," exclaimed a Yokel."I get it!It was just a rumor!"

Sighing and shaking his head, Kain turned to Cecil, but left him alone when he noticed that Cecil and Rosa were still kissing.

"Just a rumor," he repeated."So . . . let's backtrack.I heard it from Cecil, he heard it from Lori, Lori heard it from the guy at the Inn.Is the guy at the Inn here?"

"Here!" called the guy from the Inn.

"Fine, who did you hear it from?" Kain called back to him.

"Well, I heard it from a customer named Frank!"

"Frank?What an odd name.Is Frank here?"

And so they traced it down the line until they got to the last person in the Kingdom who was in the mob.

"I, well, I heard it from a man who looked like your normal everyday townsperson!" he explained.

Kain smacked a hand to his forehead.

"Of course!It must've been an Eblanian Ninja, disguised and under cover for the purpose of causing public unrest before they attack tonight!Cecil - Oh."

Cecil and Rosa were still kissing.

Kain tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello?Earth to Cecil, remember, we have a crisis on our hands?"

Jumping at his interruption, Cecil and Rosa backed off, looking slightly guilty.

"Oh!Yes!You're right!" Cecil exclaimed."Euh . . . what are we talking about again?"

Rosa giggled and went back inside the Castle.

Kain shook his head and followed.

Cecil, looking a little confused, followed him.

Their return found Cid rolling on the floor with laughter at the incident.

"Don't laugh!" Cecil warned."After all, if it went out that I was gay, it'd then come out that you're a gay guy's uncle, and that wouldn't go over very well with your wife, would it?"

Cid stopped laughing.

"So how much time did we squander going through every member of that mob?" Kain asked Lori, who had since been joined by Cami.

"Almost two hours, Sir," Lori answered.

Kain blinked.

"Um . . . are you telling me that it's almost midnight?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Oh, crud."

"Cecil!" Rosa yelled, glancing back out the door to the balcony."Look!"

Turning, Cecil and Kain could both see the approach of the lighted Airship from Eblan coming at them through the winter snow.

"Now that's just peachy," Kain mumbled under his breath."This has been one very obnoxious day."

Cecil glared at him.

"A moment like this, and that's all you can think of to say?!"

Kain checked himself.

"I mean - oh no!Whatever are we going to do that will ensure us the safety of our own Kingdom without causing another war to break out between us?Wail, wail!"

Cecil continued glaring at him.

Rosa raised an eyebrow.

Cid turned and gawked at a rather lovely wall hanging.

Lori and Cami just looked at him.

Kain shrugged.

"What?Don't look at me!We're under attack!!!!"


	13. In Which, Edge makes a speech.

11)---------- In Which, Edge makes a speech

11)---------- In Which, Edge makes a speech.

"Well," Bahamut said with a degree of surprise."You did it, then, after all?"

Rydia shook her head.

"Yes, yes, but we have to hurry!!It's gotta be almost midnight in Baron!How fast can you fly?"

Bahamut tilted his head to one side.

"You would ask _me?"_

Rydia helped Edge to his feet.

"That sounds promising," she whispered to him.

Cecil ran from the Castle to the area outside the Kingdom reserved for storage and repair of the Redwings.

"Launch!!!" he yelled, seeing the propellers motionless above the Airships.

No one heard him, it seemed, although he'd given the order officially a few moments ago.They should've already been in the air.

He continued running, coming right up into the shipyard.

Torram, Captain of the Redwings from _Les Cheveux, swung down from his Airship's deck to meet his former commander._

"Sir!" he exclaimed as Cecil skidded to a halt in front of them.

"Why aren't you in the air?!We're going to be under fire within ten minutes at the rate _Falcon's coming!!" Cecil snapped frantically._

"We can't launch, Captain Cecil!!" Torram insisted, for a moment forgetting and referring to Cecil by his former title."The propellers have frozen!"

Cecil got an evil glare in his eyes.

"Thaw them out," he ordered in a frighteningly calm voice.

Torram shook his head.

"Sir, you're dealt with the Redwings enough to know that we can't do that!If we push it, we might lose the propellers altogether - and then we'd have lost the Airships!"

"And if we don't get them in the air before _Falcon attacks, we might lose the Kingdom!!"_

"Sir!!"

"You know it!Our strength is in our Airships, and they're no good on the ground!"

"We've been trying, Your Majesty!They won't go!The propellers are frozen, we can't launch!!"

Cecil waved a frantic arm at the incoming hulk of the _Falcon, suddenly realizing what it must have felt like to be in Eblan or Damcyan or one of the other Kingdoms destroyed by the Redwings.Having led attacks himself, he knew very, very well the danger they were in._

"_Falcon is in the air!It's possible!Torram, __get those Airships in the air!!!!"_

A torrent of shouts drew their attention to the _Bounty._

The crew of the deck was quickly evacuating in any way possible, which for the most part meant jumping down over the side.Not a good idea, when one considered how large an Airship is - what could make them all - ?

A loud creaking reached them, and then the main propeller on _Bounty made a loud screech._

For a split second, the world moved in slow motion.

With a great clang, the propeller jumped into action - its frozen gears finally winning out against the ice which held them, snapping against it with the built up force from the repeated attempts to start it up.

For a briefest of moments, it spun in place. 

Then the shattering motion that had begun in the frozen gears spread - the frozen components shattered along with the ice, spraying a shower of mechanical pieces over the area.And then, after teetering for what seemed like an eternity, the propeller flew off its perch, screaming up into the air, and quickly veering back to the ground.

"_Get down!!!!" Torram bellowed as he and Cecil automatically hit the deck._

The propeller made impact with the ground a little distance away from them, fortunately crashing harmlessly into the hillside separating the hangar area from the City.

And kept moving.

Cecil watched in the most morbid horror he'd ever felt, or so it seemed, as the raging blade seemed to propel itself over the hillside, destroying everything it touched, sending trees and various temporary buildings in its path shattering into thousands of pieces, and still, it continued spinning and moving.

"Disengage the others," he murmured to Torram."Have them turn off the other propellers . . . "

Torram didn't say anything.He turned and hurried to relay the order.

Cecil kept watching the propeller move, until it finally turned on itself, burrowing into the hill itself, which slowed and halted its motion after a few moments.

_Is that like us, then? he mused.__We, Baron, reached our breaking point years ago in the war, but broke free of our icy prison with the invention of the Airships . . . which sent us spinning out of control on conquest . . . only to end up making a wrong turn and destroying ourselves . . ._

"King Cecil?"

He turned, still dazed by the incident, to find the members of the Redwings standing before him.

"Orders?"

Thinking quickly, he told someone to fetch a Black Wizard.Maybe one of them would be able to thaw the propellers with a weak FIRE spell and get the remaining Airships up before too much damage was done - 

Such was his thought train when the first Fireball was catapulted from _Falcon into the Kingdom of Baron.And the explosion was so great that they could see the flames even from over the hill._

Kain took one wild look as the Fireball hit the Kingdom and split.

The damage was minimal - the aim had been off.Perhaps whoever had launched the Fireball hadn't taken into consideration the differences of launching a normal catapult to launching one bound to a rapidly approaching Airship - 

But if the catapults were all armed, then they had even less time than planned to get everyone to safety.

He skid to a halt at the place the Fireball had hit and felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach.

The blow had destroyed the Serpent Gate.

There was no way to get the people of Baron to safety.

_Crud._

Of course, he wasn't the only one to realize this, and almost instantly the populace panicked, charging frenzied all around him.

Turning, he slammed straight into -

"Jason!" he exclaimed at his former (very former) classmate, who rubbed his head and looked at him in shock.

Of course.Jason had recently been placed in charge of training the new order of the Knights -

"We've gotta get everyone safe!Get your people on it!" he called, rushing away, not stopping to see if he listened.And there was a good chance he didn't.After all, Knight, Dragoon . . . not a good mix.But maybe he'd act on common sense and do his part -

_Falcon struck again, this time destroying completely the Weapons shop and all surrounding houses.Kain winced as people ran screaming._

_Out of the Kingdom.Get them out of the Kingdom._

"Out of the Kingdom!Get out of the Kingdom!!!!" he yelled.

Kain, his students, and the entire order of Knights jumped on the issue, directing the crazed citizens to the only remote impersonation of safety - someplace as far away from Baron as they could get.

Rosa was already mustering the Wizards when Cecil's orders came in for five Black Mages to come thaw the Airships.It didn't make sense at first.

There were seven Airships in Baron's employ - the five Redwings, the Enterprise, and the new one built to replace _Horizon, which was beginning to feel its age, the __Serpentine.__Rapier was at the Great Library, so there were six currently in Baron._

So why did Cecil only want five people?

Then she forced the thought out of her mind.

Quickly dispatching the Black Wizards, she'd been about to say something to those remaining, but was cut off by the fiery explosion outside.

"YAAH!" she screamed along with most of them.Rushing to the window, she saw the damage the first Fireball had done.

"They're using catapults!On an Airship!" she realized, a queasy feeling filling her.Shaking herself to bring her attention fully back to the present, she turned to the Wizards.

"White Mages," she ordered in a cool voice, "People are hurt out there.Get going."

With faint murmured, they brushed past her.

"Black Mages."

They looked at her expectantly.

"The _Falcon's attacking from a greater distance than we'd considered - our weapons won't be able to do a thing until we get the Redwings moving.Get out there and see what damage you can do."_

They nodded and followed their counterparts.

Rosa turned to Cid.

"Why does Cecil only want five Airships thawed?" was the first thing he asked.

"I don't know.I wondered myself.Something may have happened."

"Already?They haven't even gotten off the ground!"

"Cid, will you get a grip?!We're under attack!"

"Oh, you're right.Let's go check in with Cecil - "

"Your Majesty!!"

Rosa turned in sudden fear only to see the person she wanted to see least.

"Uriat?!"

"Your Majesty, you must get to safety!"

"You're nuts!They need me!" she shouted, hurrying right past him and out of the Castle, Cid on her heels.

Another Fireball had already struck, taking out one of the shops and some houses.Rosa could already see her people on it, working with the wounded, and could also see the Black Wizards weaving their spells in the general direction of the Airship.

"Rosa, we - " Cid began.

A burning crash erupted behind them as a Fireball hit the Castle, throwing them forward onto the ground.

"Are you okay?!" he yelled at her, pushing himself up out of the dirt and rushing to pull her up.

"Yes, I'm - "

Another hit, farther from them, higher up on the Castle.

And another, smack dab in the center of the Kingdom.

Another, striking the Wall in front of them that they'd been about to enter, the force sending them flying back into the flames from the first hit on the Castle.

Screaming from the sudden force and the burning, Rosa floundered hysterically for a moment, not able to think.

Then Cid again pulled her to her feet.

"C'mon!" he yelled."They're focusing on the Castle now!We've gotta get away!"

"We've gotta _fly away!!!" she shouted, pointing at the incoming Airship.The only way they could win this was if they got the Redwings into the air!Otherwise - _

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Cid seethed, rubbing his temples."Let Cecil handle it!You've gotta get somewhere safe!"

For a moment she couldn't bring her feet to move, then she managed to break into a run beside him.

"Where can we go?!?!" she demanded."They're everywhere!!"

"Queen Rosa!!!!"

She turned to see Cami running to them.

"Cami - "

"Get out!Out of the Kingdom!!Away from their target!!"

"Is that where you're sending everyone?"

"We're trying!But no one's coopera - "

"Keep them moving!"Rosa turned and saw _Falcon almost on top of them.In another minute, they'd be able to drop their bombs as well -_

She began her incantation for WHITE.

"Rosa - " Cami urgently cried, but was silenced by Cid.

"Let her work!" he told the young Dragoon."Just keep everyone - "

A Fireball struck the street only a few feet ahead of them, throwing them all back into the City Wall.The blast had rendered the three of them unconscious.

Cecil turned and watched helplessly as the _Falcon opened its full arsenal on the Kingdom.Ten catapults, he counted.And a properly manned Airship capable of dropping three firebombs a minute -_

He had to turn away and shield his eyes as the whole Kingdom seemed to burst into flames.

"Holy @#$%!!!!" Torram yelled, seeing the eruption."Cecil - "

"Where are those Mages!??!?!" he yelled.

"Here, Sir!" 

Turning, the two Airship Captains saw the five Black Wizards charging onto the scene.

"Don't be here!" Cecil bellowed."Be _there!"Frantically jumping up and down, he pointed at the five intact Airships."Thaw the propellers!It's our only chance!"_

Not wasting the time to acknowledge, they scurried over to the Redwings, already chanting.

Torram's astonished gasp drew his attention.

"What - "

"Look, Sir!"

Turning, Cecil could see where the flames from the sudden onslaught had faded, leaving - little or no damage at all?

"Don't worry about it!" he snapped at Torram, bolting for the _Enterprise."That's not our concern, we'll figure it out later!Get in your Ship!"_

"Yes, Sir!" he quickly conceded, following him and quickly climbing aboard _Les Cheveaux._

Kain peeked out from behind his Shield, tentative at first, then quickly when he saw the flames were gone.

He looked over his shoulder.A White Wizard flashed him a thumbs-up and quickly began chanting again.

Each of the White Mages had cast a SHIELD on himself for protection against the Fireballs, and so many of them together had managed to cover the area that had taken the worst beating.Those citizens who remained within the Kingdom had been protected by hiding within this area under their protection.

But they could only cover a small space.There weren't enough to cover the whole Kingdom.

Kain looked up in the midnight sky, lit up almost as brightly as day by the spells cast by the Black Wizards: Lighting, Fire, and Ice were shooting at the Airship, but making little damage.

"They probably have some kind of Ninja spell protecting them," he speculated aloud.

Lori skidded to a halt at his side.

"Sir!" he exclaimed."The Redwings are still unable to launch!The Mages are having a hard time thawing the propellers without damaging the Airships!"

"How long do they think?"

"Five or six minutes."

"With the _Falcon paused for a second, probably to reload their weapons?"Kain shook his head."This does not look good."_

Lori glanced over his shoulder to where the remaining citizens were being evacuated during the lull.

"Sir, what can we _do?!"_

Kain glowered at him in frustration.

"Nothing, unless they land!We can't hurt them in the air!"

Lori swallowed nervously.

"Sir . . . could a Jump hurt them?"

Kain blinked in astonishment.

"You mean Jump at an Airship?!"

"If there's no other option - "

"My gosh.I see.You're right . . . we may have to try it . . . "

With a click, _Enterprise's rear propeller began to spin in a slow, halting motion._

Cecil shook his head; it wasn't good enough.

The Airship next over, _Arrow, had their main working about as well._

This wasn't working._Falcon was on the Kingdom, and they were stuck on the ground._

For a moment, Cecil felt an overwhelming despair.

Then -

"Sir, the _Horizon's got her main and rear going strong!"_

Cecil turned at the familiar voice.

It was the Techie, of all people, at all times, to end up under his command again . . .

"_Horizon?You're kidding."_

"No, Sir!It may the crappiest piece of junk Airship on the face of this planet, but it's going better than the others!"

Cecil nodded.

"Anyone who can get in the air . . . "

Cutting through the air at that moment came the unmistakeable sound of cannonfire.

Lori rammed into Kain, jumped back several steps, and smacked himself in the face before shaking his head and considering seeking antidepressant drugs.

"Sir!!!!" he squeaked.

Kain didn't reply.He was too shocked himself.

_About @#$%ing TIME!!! _

A second Airship had entered the scene, advancing quickly on the _Falcon, firing with all the heavy artillery an Airship was usually furnished with that could perform aerial combat.Yeah, they shot a whole lot of cannons._

_Falcon almost did a little dance.It jumped back, startled by the attack, and dove down, under the new arrival and past it._

The second Airship did a 360 in the air and took off after it.

"_Rapier!" Kain yelled, suddenly recognizing the hulk."It's gotta be the __Rapier!"_

Lori stared at the battle waging above, transfixed.

_Falcon did a 360 of its own, firing its own cannons back at __Rapier, but missing as the Redwing shot up and above them, dropping a firebomb.__Falcon, seeing their motion and guessing their strategy, shot out of the way, and back in the direction it had come from, __Rapier on its tail._

The bomb hit the fields around the Kingdom, missing its target, but not furthering the damage to the Kingdom itself.

_Falcon kept running.Veering sharply and heading straight at __Rapier, the two played a quick game of Chicken before __Falcon swerved aside, instead heading directly over the Castle and dropping another bomb._

_Rapier caught up with it while it slowed to do this._

It was then that _Falcon turned its catapults to a new use, and let lose all ten Fireballs at the enemy Airship._

_Rapier swerved to miss the blasts and in doing so, inadvertently bashed up against the side of __Falcon._

For a moment, the two backed off from each other, most likely to assess the damage from that.Neither seemed terribly harmed, though.

During this interlude, however, _Falcon again launched ten Fireballs at the wounded Redwing, which was now a bit sluggish and couldn't dodge the full force of the blow._

The main body of the Airship still looked mainly intact, but the main propeller was knocked out, and even from the ground a good distance away, Kain could see the flames on the deck.

And _Rapier, lighting a smoldering path all the way down, landed. _

It was out of the battle.

Lori hiccuped.

"Now what?" he whispered.

Kain tossed a look over his shoulders and grinned.

"Now?Now we take back this stupid battle!" he replied.

The four remaining Redwings, led by the fifth Airship, _Enterprise, rose from the ground in attack formation.__Rapier's intervention had bought them enough time to thaw the propellers and get all of them off the ground._

They hadn't wanted to have to fight Eblan.Not again.But there was little left to do.

The fighters, the only people remaining in the Kingdom now, aside from the Mages, watched, each translating the light signals they all knew by heart as the _Enterprise communicated with __Falcon._

"_Surrender," came Cecil's message, "__Or we will be forced to destroy you.The damage done by Rapier__ cannot compare with what will happen if you face the Redwings in full force.Land now, and we will show mercy."_

"Mercy," he heard Lori mutter."Mercy?Why?"

Kain glanced at him.

"If you'd ever fought in an actual war, Lori, you'd know why.Cecil doesn't want anyone to have to go through that again if it's avoidable.Maybe we can still resolve this peacefully."

Lori bit his lip, not quite understanding.And why should he?He knew only what the Eblanians had done that night - he'd want revenge, of course, not peace.

Kain shook his head.

He was almost afraid to see how this was going to turn out.

For a long moment, there came no reply from _Falcon._

Then they replied.

By firing.

The Fireball shot through the air, connecting with _Arrow directly.It instantly plummeted to the ground, even as the other four Airships converged on the __Falcon, attacking with everything they had._

And then?Well . . .

Cecil squinted through the darkness.

"What the . . . "Shaking his head in disbelief, he looked again.

"Crud!Halt!Fall back!!" he ordered."Signal the others!_Fall back_!"

Immediately acting on his orders, if unsure why, the crew of _Enterprise quickly halted the Airship, then let it descend and veer away.The Redwings followed their lead even before the signal was given.Maybe they, too, had seen what was coming._

Retreating as far as he could stand, Cecil ordered a halt, and they all turned to watch.

A dark form shot through the night, colliding with _Falcon head on._

The Airship wobbled for only a moment before falling out of the sky -

And then it was caught by the same dark form.

And set down on the ground as if it were little more than a paper sailboat on a pond.

"Land," Cecil ordered, barely above a whisper.

Even as his crew did so, he could sense their confusion.

"It's Bahamut," he explained in a low voice, feeling a little weak from all that had just happened."Rydia must be free.But now we still have to deal with _them_ on the ground."

Jason came up beside Kain.

"What the @#$%! just happened?!"

Kain gestured to the great Dragon who had shot back up into the sky.

"That's Bahamut," he explained."Rydia must've Called for him.And maybe she knows something about Edge."

"Edge?Isn't all this his fault?"

"Not hardly."

"Sir - " Lori cut in tentatively.

"You're absolutely right, Lori," Kain interceded."We shouldn't be talking.We should be fighting.C'mon!" he called, and his people all fell in behind him.

Jason gave some cryptic order, and the Knights all fell in along with the Dragoons and soldiers.

Kormag, clinging to the railing, turned to look in any direction other than that of the dragon which was now back in the sky.

Rather, his attention was captured by the massing Baronian Army, which was pouring outside of the City Walls.He counted.

Baron's forces, depleted as they were, still supported many of their lesser armies, and restoration had been proceeding as planned (albeit a bit slowly.In fact, the majority of the warriors were novice kids, but they _looked_ good out there).Nine independent battalions, seven cohorts of halberdiers (which he was particularly loath to), and the more widely-known order of Baronian Knights, and the tiny yet lethal force of Dragoons.Numerous squads of archers stationed along the walls of the Castle now moved forward to meet their enemy.

Oo, this wasn't looking good.

"Look!" he yelled, the commanders of the Eblanian Army on the deck with him."They're going to attack!We've got to get them first!"

"Right!" they conceded quickly, preferring a fight on the ground.

The side panel openings on _Falcon flew open, and the entire Army came pouring out to engage the Baronian forces._

Standing safely on the deck with his conspirators, (except for the Cook, who was still in Eblan) Kormag watched as the two Armies prepared to engage.

And then the dragon landed again.

Just before the two sides met and began to fight it out, Bahamut landed between them, depositing Rydia and Edge on the ground as he was requested.Then he shot back up into the sky without so much as a by-your-leave, letting them fend for themselves, as they preferred.

Edge hit the ground hard, still far from recovered, but the same driving fury gave him the strength to keep his balance.

"_EBLAN!!!!" he shouted as loud as his weak systems could manage, "__HALT IN THE NAME OF THE KING!!!!"_

_The Eblanians skid to a startled halt._

"Freeze!" came a follow-up command from the Baronian side."Yes, fussy, that means _you too_!!"

Without looking, Edge identified the voice as Kain's.

Obeying, both sides of the battle stood frozen at the sight of the new arrivals.

"Just what do you think you're trying to _pull here?!?!" Edge cried, lashing out at his people."Did I, or did I __not give specific orders to __not engage?!!?!?"_

A young Ninja, one that Edge recognized from the small group who had challenged Kormag, shoved his way to the front and fell to his knees.

"Your Majesty - we thought you were dead!"

Edge glared at him impassively.

"Oh, so that means my words no longer carry any weight?!"

"No, Sir!It's just that - we thought - we - "

"Hold your tongue, I know what you thought," Edge sighed, unable to be angry with him."Now you all just back off and - "

"NO!"

Everyone looked up to see Kormag standing at the doorway of the _Falcon._

Fury like Edge had never felt filled him in that one moment.

Shaking free Rydia's support, he stumbled towards his Advisor.The Army parted cleanly to let him through.

"So this is your game, huh, Kormag?" Edge hissed in a low tone, reaching him."You'd stoop to any levels to bring the war back, huh?Even if it means _conspiracy?!"_

A murmur ran through the ranks.

Kormag glared at him soundly.

"I don't know who you are," he declared, "but King Edge is dead.You must be some disguised monster the Caller Summoned to bend us to her wishes."

Edge, in a blaze of pure hatred, whipped out Masamune, pointing it at the Chancellor's throat.

"Is this some monster?" he inquired in a hoarse whisper."I've not met the monster _yet who could wield this Sword!"_

"Nor Edge!" Kormag triumphantly declared."He was defeated by the Sword and had to have it locked away!"

"It doesn't look very locked away now, does it?!?!" Edge yelled.His burst of strength suddenly began to drain, and he stumbled heavily for a moment, needing to stop talking and steady himself."You tried to kill me.You tried to destroy my Kingdom by bringing back this war of yours.You tried to destroy the woman I love.I will not stand for this, Kormag."

Kormag took his weakness as a good sign.

"And what will you do, Your Majesty?" he spat.

The Eblanians reacted at the use of the title - it showed that this was, in fact, the real King Edge who stood before them.

"You're weak!You always have been!Just look at yourself!"

"If I'm weak now, it's because of your treason."

"Not just now!All this time, you've been trying to bend us to what you call 'peace', what we all _know to in __fact," and he raised his voice significantly, "to be __surrender to the people who destroyed our Kingdom and murdered our loved ones!!!"_

A jeer rose from the Army - they wanted to fight.

"Fact, is it?" Edge replied in a dwindling voice.He hissed wordlessly for a moment."Well, Kormag, I don't suppose you feel like iterating into your little speech how many more of our people will be killed, and how much more of our lands will be destroyed if we rebegin the war?"He narrowed his eyes."Baron is not what it once was.Nor is Eblan.Why? well, because the old idiots who were running our Kingdoms are dead!My father - he was a jerk.I'll say that.He was.Seemed like a good guy to most . . . but really, he was a jerk.And no brains when it came to the public wellbeing.And the King of Baron, well, I've gotten an impression in recent days that he wasn't much better.We have a lot of work to do to make up for all the trouble stupid rulers like them have caused us."

Kormag shook his head.

"Your Majesty," he sighed, as if in pity.Then he turned to the Eblanians."Yes, it's really him.He's alive.But his soul, it seems, has sold out!To the _enemy!Think!Which is more important - his blood, or the wellbeing of your Kingdom?"_

"My soul sold out?" Edge repeated."Why don't you just go ahead and add in that I'm very young and not yet ready for the burden of running a Kingdom?"

An audible gasp was heard from the fighters.

Kormag's eyes widened.

Edge grinned.

"I heard, Kormag, I heard exactly what you said.I was there.I was there the whole time - you just couldn't see me.Or hear me.Or perceive me in any way.I could perceive you, though."He paused for a moment, thinking."Let's see, you said that I refused to place my trust in Royal Advisors, rather, trusting instead in my friends.See, the problem with you, Kormag, is that you have no sense of loyalty whatsoever, so of course, you don't see that it's _always wiser to trust a friend than a Royal Advisor.And your little insurrection is the perfect example.Don't you agree?"_

Kormag paled.

"But, Your Majesty - "

"Moving on."Edge again felt a new strength flowing through him."You said that I live in a fantasy world.I like that one, Kormag, I really do."He paused, firmly placing his feet on the ground to keep from stumbling again, still holding Masamune firmly in hand."Really.See, this fantasy world of mine, as you call it, is a great place.It's a place where the rulers of the most powerful nations on the Earth are at peace with one another, and are doing their best to help one another rebuild Kingdoms ravaged by years of war and bring a safe life to our children!Yes, believe it or not, a place safe for children to grow up and not be afraid of an attack coming at them in the middle of the night, and killing them before they can finish that picture they were painting, or before they're old enough to go on their own pony-ride!A place where parents actually don't have to be all distraught because their kids have been sent off to fight in a war where if you show mercy or accept it, you will be executed!You know, Kormag, a fantasy world.You're right.There can never be a world safe for children.Or free of constant battles.Never be a world where you can trust your friends, or accept the help of a - a foreigner!"

He paused, his strength leaving him for the last time.

"Well, you know what, Kormag?There can never be such a fantasy world, because of people like _you!Therefore, you are __fired!"He swiveled away from Kormag's astonished face to look over the Army."You've heard it all.What do you think?Fantasy?Stress on a young mind?A young mind that happens to be the __King of Eblan?!?!"His knees failed for a moment, and he felt someone grab onto him, supporting him and keeping him from falling."Do me a favor, my people," he forced out through gritted teeth against the pain he felt."Grant me this.Grant me this __one Final Fantasy - that we can stop this war, and move on, and let our families live in safety.One Final Fantasy where the world is at peace.It's within our grasp.It's not impossible.It's very possible.Maybe I __am too young to accept the burden of a throne.This being the case, humor me.Let's give it one last chance."His eyes fell closed."One Final Fantasy."_

For a moment, he was aware of nothing.How long that moment lasted, he wasn't sure, but his senses were jarred from the cocoon they were spinning in his mind when he heard the crowd rustle itself, and heard a thump beside him.

"Edge."

Shaking his head, he looked up, finding that he was lying on the ground, several members of his army kneeling over him, concerned.

Also standing there was Kain.

"Hey, man," Edge greeted him weakly."Remember me now?"

Kain nodded.The only way he'd been able to get to him was by Jumping over the Army that wouldn't let him pass.Now that he was here, though, he wasn't sure what he could do.

"Clearly."

"Hm."

The crowd bustled and finally parted, allowing Cecil to join them.

Edge felt his consciousness fading again.

"Yo, Cecil," he said."What do you think?Peace?"

Cecil knelt over him and laid his hands on his shoulders.

"Fine by me," he murmured, then went off on some other strange words.

Edge sighed faintly.He'd been worried that Cecil would hold a grudge over this attack . . . then he realized that he was casting a CURE spell.

"Don't bother," he whispered."That won't do any good."

Cecil finished his spell, and indeed, it had no effect.

Struggling faintly, he tried to sit up, but was unable.Cecil had to help him into a sitting position.

"I think we need to rearrange our system a bit," Edge declared to his Army."I'm hereby firing everyone.Let's see.You," and he pointed at one of the young Ninja's nearby, "you can be the new Chancellor.You're the new Minister of Defense, you're the new Captain of the Guard . . . "He went down the list, handing out jobs at random to whoever happened to be around.Then he frowned."Crud, where'm I gonna find a new Cook?"

"Relax," Cecil urged him."You can rearrange your government after you've rested."

"??No, I'm not done yet.Mmm . . . my people?The _Falcon won't make it back to Eblan on this night."_

Cecil glanced over at Kain, who nodded and knelt beside them.

"Our Army's been left at less than half strength from the last couple of wars.So has yours.We've a few empty wings in our Barracks complex that can shelter them all so no one freezes in the Airship - and no one's gonna fight about it, right?"Kain blinked, turning the last part of the question to the fighters.

"No, Sir!" came resounding reply from the Baronian side of the battle.

"Nor here!" agreed the Eblanians.

Edge frowned.

"This is too easy."

"Worry about that later," Cecil suggested.

"Good idea."Edge was silent for a moment, and Cecil worried that he'd lost consciousness again.Then he came back."Cecil, can I ask a favor?"

Cecil, still holding him up, shrugged.

"Shoot."

An arrow shot by overhead.

"Not you!!" Kain yelled at the errant Archer, who shrieked and ran off in humiliation.

"Could I borrow a nice, deep, dark, _damp_ cell in your dungeon?I've got some conspirators who could use it."

"No problem.Kain?"

Kain shrugged.

"No problem – I'll handle the jailors.They're terrified of me.Who, exactly?"

Edge tried to reply, but found himself unable.

Rydia's voice cut through, telling him ex_actly who, and he grinned slightly._

"C'mon," he heard Cecil say."We're taking you to the Castle to recover."

He was in no position to resist even if he'd wanted to.Really, though, at that moment, all he cared about was sleep.

Sleep.

That would be very nice.


	14. In Which, Masamune gets the final word.

12)---------- In Which, Masamune gets the final word

12)---------- In Which, Masamune gets the final word.

Kormag didn't bother resisting as one of the Dragoons dragged him off to a very "special" cell in Baron's dungeon, along with the other conspirators.He was very loud about it, but didn't really resist.

Cecil and Kain were trying to get Edge, now more unconscious than conscious, to the Castle so he could have a break and recover.

Both armies just sort of stood there, uncertain of what to do about each other.

"Hey!" Kain snapped."Don't just stand there!Mingle!"

And so they mingled, getting to know members from the other side.It was interesting - they were beginning to realize, as Kain had so tragically all those years before, that there was more in common between them than not.

A loud blast behind them caught everyone's attention.

"Now what?!?!" Cecil seethed, looking over his shoulder.Then his jaw dropped and he just stared.

Kain started laughing.

The sky above Baron was suddenly lit up, as brightly as it had been during the battle.But this time, it was with fireworks instead.

"What do you know?" Kain sighed, shaking his head."Happy New Year, everybody!"

Rydia pushed her way over to them.

"Edge . . . ?"

"He should be okay, I think," Cecil told her."Just completely exhausted.And somewhat binged up."

"Masamune's a tough customer."

"That it is."

"Cecil," Kain interjected, "maybe you should try to find Rosa?I haven't seen her since any of this started."

So Rydia slipped her arm around Edge's shoulder in Cecil's place, and left him free to go in search of the Queen.

"Did you free Edge?" Kain asked her as they continued toward the Castle.

Rydia nodded and mumbled something.

"How?" Kain pressed."I doubt Masamune'd hand him over at a polite word."

She flicked a glare at him.

"How do you know what happened with Masamune?" she sharply demanded.

Kain shrugged.

"Simple.After the Sword ate him, he managed to communicate with me from the other plane."

"Huh?"

"I chatted with his ghost."

"How?"

"We don't know.It just worked out that way."

"So you knew that Eblan was attacking tonight?"

"Yeah, we found out earlier today."

"Why just then?"

"Because that was when I woke up."

"Woke up?"

Kain raised an eyebrow.

"I think I have a lot to fill you in on since the last time you were here, Rydia."

"I think you do, Kain."

Cecil pushed his way through the crowds in the Kingdom.Apparently, the people had returned when the fighting had settled down.Although much of the City was in a charred ruin, though, the atmosphere was far from downcast.Rather, everyone seemed to be concentrating solely on the fact that it was a holiday.

Their new beginning.In just two months would be the anniversary of his attack on Mysidia as the Dark Knight.When all this had started.

He blinked as he walked through the broken streets.

It hadn't even been a year.Not a full year since all this had started.One year ago . . . he remembered it.Watching out of his tower window as the Kingdom celebrated the holiday, but feeling so withdrawn and guilt ridden that he'd been unable to feel anything but negative emotion.

Now?Now, well, it was a completely different story.

White Wizards were still running everywhere, seeing to the many injuries sustained in the attack.Very few people had gotten through unscathed, and a good many had, in fact, been killed.And there were many that were as of yet unseen to.

But they were doing their job, and Cecil knew that if he tried to intervene with them, he'd be in the way.So he continued looking for Rosa.

It took him a while to find her.As it was, he was almost ready to just check in at the Castle and see if she'd gotten back there safely, and was on his way before he finally located his Queen.

Still unconscious from the last blow she'd taken, she was in a charred heap against the City Wall.Nearby were Cid and Cami.

They all seemed to be hurt pretty badly - but nothing incurable.

Another Wizard, catching up with him, sighed something and began chanting at Cid.Cecil, on the other hand, turned his attention to Rosa.

He knelt beside her, rolling her onto her back.She made no response, completely unconscious.And although she was burned and battered, Cecil was once again reminded that he'd married the most beautiful woman on the face of the Earth.

Softly, he cast LIFE, holding her gently in his arms.

She frowned faintly and opened her eyes.

"Cecil?" she murmured."Did we win?"

"Very," he replied in a soothing voice, moving on to a CURE2.

Rosa didn't appear to be in any shape to argue with that, so she just lay there and let him heal her.

Then she frowned again, looking up at him.

"Cecil," she said in a stronger voice, "I don't know if I ever mentioned this to you before.It just hit me when I woke up . . . you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

He laughed and helped her to her feet.

"I don't know if I ever mentioned this to _you_ before," he told her, "but you have the most beautiful face _anyone_'s ever seen."

She laughed, and they went back into the Castle, the fireworks still blazing above them.

Thomas, another of Kain's students, led a group of soldiers to the wreck of the _Rapier_.Marion met him, Floating down to the ground and shocking the daylights out of him.

"What, haven't you ever seen a FLOAT spell?" she quipped, catching his astonishment."Peasant."She swept a hand over the Airship.

"Damages are minor, considering.It'll need new propellers fitted and a whole bunch of other technical stuff that the Captain said that I couldn't understand.I don't speak the Airship lingo, not like you kids in your generation."But when she turned and grinned at him, he had a feeling that she was more up to date than anyone else in the Kingdom.And Thomas silently swore to never get on this woman's bad side.

"Was anyone injured?" he inquired, feeling nervous.

The Master Wizard shook her head.

"No, nothing I couldn't fix.If only the other Redwings kept an experienced Mage on board, a lot of injuries could be nipped in the bud.But no, that's not Cid's idea of a tight ship . . . "

"Um, Ma'am, would you just, euh, come back to the City?Please?"

Marion winked.

"If you want me to shut up, boy, you may as well just tell me so."

Thomas squirmed.

"No, Ma'am.Talk all you like."

She sighed.

"I don't believe it.Kid, you need help."She turned back to the Airship to address the crew, which was hanging over the side waiting for her word."_C'mon, guys!Party at Cecil's!_" she called, and they came down with one loud whoop.Marion turned back to Thomas.

"So I take it the business with Masters has been dissolved?"

"Dissolved?Um, yes.Everyone infected had fully recovered by earlier today."

She nodded.

"Good.Rosa kept me informed, but I hadn't heard the final word."

"Probably because we heard we were going to be attacked, and she was concentrating on other things."

"Probably.We could see the fireworks from the Great Library, and figured that if Baron was burning, we'd better step in."

"It's a good thing you did!" Thomas sincerely told her."Otherwise, I think we'd've been sitting ducks!"

"You _were_ sitting ducks, boy."

"You're right.Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome.Now can we go back to the City?I'm starving."

"The Castle's taken major damage - "

"But I'm sure there's still food?"

"Well, yes, Ma'am."

Marion smiled, tossing her long silver hair over her shoulder.

"Then lead on, my little Dragoon!I need to have a chat with your superiors!"

"Explain."

This was Cid's only word as he regarded the _Bounty_'s lack of a propeller, a propeller which, for some reason, had turned up embedded in a nearby hillside.

Torram shrugged, grinning.He was too relieved to take any offense.

"The propellers froze, and it just up and flew off, Sir!" he explained.

Cid crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"And exactly what are you going to do about this?"

"Get someone to fix it, Sir."

For a moment, Cid stared at him blankly.

"I see.Hmm."He frowned."You've got an attitude, you know that?"

Torram shrugged.

"Just following orders, Sir!Take it up with King Cecil!"

Cid burst into laughter.

"You know I will!"

"Yes, Sir!Better make sure the King doesn't cancel our contract!"

"If he does," Cid declared, "I'll have him beaten."

He looked over the wounded wing of fighters.

"You know," he sighed in a low voice, "when my father and I, and KluYa, first designed the Airships, we meant for them to end this war.Not give it a chance to flare up again."

"They did end the war, Cid," Torram reminded him."It's just that there're too many power hungry freaks who get a hold of them, and ruin it for all of us."

"True."Cid glanced at _Horizon._"I can hardly believe that one held together, much less was the first off the ground.Maybe it's in our best interests to restore it instead of scrapping it."

"You've not scrapped an Airship yet!You just want an excuse!"

Cid shook his head.

"I scrapped one.One that was utterly beyond repair, and not even salvageable.Not even I could save it."

Torram frowned for a moment, then nodded.

"_Dawn_."

Cid murmured an affirmative.

"_Dawn_ was quite a ship.Did you ever fly on it?"

"No, Sir.I was on _Arrow_."

"_Arrow._There's a laugh.Who named that clunker?"

"Baigan did, Sir."

"Hm.I guess that would explain why it runs so slowly.It's still revolting against that freak."

"I'm sure that's it exactly."

"And if it's not, it should be.But you know, _Dawn _such a wreck by the time we got to it, that we weren't even sure which side was the front anymore.It was totally destroyed."He paused."Only Airship Cecil ever let be scrapped.I've suggested it on _Horizon_ more than once, and only just recently did he even begin to consider it.I'm telling you, that guy hangs onto the Redwings like they were muffins in a famine."

"So why did he let you scrap _Dawn_?" Torram inquired, laying a fond glance on his Airship, _Les __Cheveux__._

Cid shrugged.

"I could never be sure.For one thing, of course, he didn't have as much of a say because he wasn't King . . . but he didn't even object.Just sort of looked at me when I said there wasn't enough left to fill an eyedropper, nodded, and never talked about it again."

"He had some bad memories from _Dawn_.Maybe that's it."

"I doubt it.I don't know exactly what it was, but anyway, he's never let us scrap a Ship since.And just when he finally lets up on _Horizon_, _I_ decide to keep it!"Cid shook his head."This isn't wrong . . . it's just not right."

Torram smirked.

"Nope.I checked it.It's completely wrong."

Cid raised an eyebrow. 

"Don't be a weird boy."

Torram shrugged again.

"Catch ya later, Cid.I'm goin' home."

And with a wave, the Redwing Captain left Cid's vicinity.

Kain peeked around the edge of _Bounty_, which Cid was standing beside.

"Candygram?" he greeted."Hey, Cid!What's the status here?"

"Don't even ask!" Cid snapped lightly."I may be forced to throw a brick at your head!"

Kain waggled a finger at him.

"You wouldn't!It would defile my sister's memory!"

"Half sister."

"Right."

"No, actually, I think Veronica would've shut you up a long time ago.And since she's not here, I'm gonna have to do it for her."

Cid reached down and grabbed a brick which was lying conveniently at his feet and hurled it at the Dragoon's head.

Kain whooped something and took off running, laughing like a maniac.

"You've been trying to get me for years, Cid, and haven't caught me yet!"

"That's about to change!" Cid assured him, lopping another brick at Kain.

This one actually hit him smack on the head.

"OW!" Kain yelled, rubbing his helmet."I can't believe you just did that!!You hit my head with a brick!!!"

Cid laughed.

"It'd take more than a brick to crack that hard skull of yours, Kain.So why don't you just take your wounded pride back to the Castle?I'm sure Cecil could use you on cleanup after this incident."

"Oh, I'm heading there in a minute anyway.We just finished interrogating Kormag and his accomplices, so I'm off to make my report."

"Did they break easy?"

"It would be humiliating to even speak of it in public.Not even traitors deserve that embarrassment."

"That weak?"

"That weak."Kain waved lightly, still rubbing his head."Happy Year's End, Cid!"

"Whatever!"

Kain laughed again and left for the Castle.

The fireworks were still blazing brightly in the sky, and the people of Baron were still busy celebrating.

"Tomorrow will be Jour d'Anee," Rosa murmured quietly, watching the festivities below."The day of the year, when all activity in the Kingdom stops, and everyone rejoices their good fortune."

"Good fortune?" Cecil murmured back, standing next to her on the tower."The Kingdom's in a ruin."

"But we're alive.We're at peace."Rosa sighed, leaning against the railing."We have more to be thankful for then I can comprehend at once.Just think of everything that's happened in one year . . . "

Cecil smiled and drew her tightly into his arms.

"The good outweighs the bad," he told her, "because it's still here."He kissed the top of her head."You know, Rosa . . . for all the terrible things that happened, I don't think we could ever have wished for anything more than what we have right now."

"Of course not!We're royalty now!Can't ask for much more than that!" she jibed.

"Do you think you're funny?"

"Yes."

"Well . . . maybe a little."He squeezed her slightly for a moment."All that time, when I was a Dark Knight, I never let myself believe how I felt about you.If it ever crossed my mind, I blotted it out so darkly that I never knew.I guess I was just too afraid.But after Golbez took you . . . I just suddenly knew."

" 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'," she quoted.

"Very fonder," he added.

She smiled again, then frowned slightly.

"I just wish I knew what was wrong with me lately."

Cecil frowned, concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know!"Rosa flailed her hands helplessly."I just haven't been myself!I've just been so moody, I never know what to think!And I keep having these spells where I just feel nauseous, every morning in fact . . . " she trailed off, realization dawning on her face."Crud!Me, a Healer, didn't even notice!Cecil!"She turned to him, her face bright with joy."We're going to have a baby!!"

For a moment, Cecil was frozen, shocked by the news.

"Sure?" he asked in a tiny voice.

Rosa, as a test, cast a PEEP on herself.

"Yep!" she confirmed.

"Woah!!!" Cecil yelled, suddenly feeling as if he were floating on pure jubilation.

Rosa wasted no words.Rather, she just grabbed onto him and kissed him soundly.

Light footsteps suddenly told them that they were not alone on the tower.

"You two are going to catch your death standing out here in this weather, you know."

Cecil looked up as Kain, still in full battle armor, strode up to them.

"Have I ever mentioned what a cute couple you two make?"

Cecil broke away from Rosa to glare at him.

"You sure know how to ruin a moment, you know that?"

Kain made a sweeping bow.

"I live to serve, My Liege!"

Just as Cecil considered whacking him over the head, Rosa grabbed Kain and kissed him soundly as well, before bouncing down the stairs.

Kain blinked, staring after her, and Cecil broke up laughing.

"She's excited," he explained.

"I'll say."Kain blinked again."I just hate it when she does that!"

Cecil grin faded somewhat.

"What do you mean?"Kain didn't say anything."What, she's kissed you like that before?"

"Mmmmmm . . . " Kain squeezed out, shrugging, "not quite like _that_."

Cecil crossed his arms, suddenly a blank expression on his face.

"When was this?"

Kain crossed his arms back and met Cecil's gaze steadily.

"While you were out tracking down Masters.I told her I was going after you, and she up and lip-locked me."

Cecil nodded, his expression still blank.

"And what did you do?"

Kain shuddered.

"I bolted and didn't speak to her again until I got back, shortly after which I lost consciousness anyway."

Cecil sighed, seemingly with relief.

"Why?" he asked."Aren't you still in love with her?"

Kain just blinked at him.

"I know you _were_," Cecil pointed out."And if you still are, you've never made any sign of it, for which I'm grateful, seeing as how we're married.But if - "

"Cecil, please don't even ask!" Kain suggested, holding up a hand an grinning slightly."I just haven't let myself consider it.It was considering it once way back when that started the whole problem.The way I see it, if I just keep my nose out of it, then nothing _else_ will go wrong.You're right.You two are married.So I refuse to butt in.It's just a bit hard when she goes around doing _that_."

Cecil nodded his appreciation.

"But that's Rosa for you."

"Yeah.So, uh, why's she so excited?"

"It seems we're going to have our first child."

"No way!"Kain smacked him in the forehead."Congratulations, you Royal Idiot!I knew you had it in you!"

"You're weird, you know that?"

"Just trying to ruin a moment."

"And you're doing a good job of it.How's Edge?"

"Conked out completely the moment me and Rydia got him on a bed.We're just gonna let him sleep it out, and hope he comes out of it."

"And Kormag's group?"

"Spilled their guts.Begged for mercy, and even started crying."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"And that freak almost beat us?"

"Yep."

"I can't believe this."

"Yeah, well, send Marion a box of candy for showing up when she did."

"I just may do that."Cecil shook his head. "So, am I the only one who still has a lot left to sink in after that Masters bit?"

"Not at all," Kain assured him."I think the jolting of the whole thing will do most of us more good than anything else, though.It's always good to remember where we all came from . . . "

"So I realize.You know, Kain, the more I think about it, the more you remind me of Rorunar these days."

Kain grinned.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Cecil was staring out over the City again, not watching the other member of the conversation.

"It's also reminded me of some important things that I can't believe I was so dense as to overlook since becoming King."

"Oh?"

Cecil nodded and turned back to face him again, drawing his Sword and placing it lightly on Kain's shoulder.

"Dragoon Kain, I, as King of Baron, use the authority granted to me to lift the disgrace on your name, and restore to you your full rights as a Dragoon of your rank; to serve and protect the Kingdom as your heart dictates."Cecil swallowed, a little nervous."Okay . . . that's it."

Kain burst out into laughter.

"And you say _I_ know how to ruin a moment?"

"I'm not very good at this King stuff, Kain.Somehow, when I do it, it just seems corny to me."

The Dragoon shook his head.

"It's not corny, Cecil.This means more to me than you could ever know."He paused, reflecting on that."Or maybe you do."

Cecil just grinned.

"Good night, Kain."

He walked past the Dragoon for the stairs.

For a moment, Kain said nothing.Then, just as Cecil started going down, he replied.

"Year's End, Cecil.The past is now officially reconciled."

Cecil paused.

"Not just yet," he answered quietly."But that's between me and someone else."

For three days, Edge made no move of recovery, and it was beginning to have everyone very, very worried.The Eblanian troops had gotten along amazingly well with the Baronians, and Cecil had to agree with Edge - this was too easy.But they weren't going to complain.

With the snowy winter season upon them, and the now-thick blanket of snow over the Kingdom reminding everyone of the chill, it had taken a bit of doing to get the Airships thawed enough to handle a large distance._Falcon_ had made it to Baron, but not only was it under major repairs from all Bahamut had done, but Cid said that with the rate the temperature had dropped, it never would have made it back even if it was in the best of condition.

But by finally finding the correct combination of spells from the Black Mage population (and Rydia), _Serpentine_ was made ready to make the flight, and well over half the remaining Eblanian army was sent home, along with the new officials Edge had placed in charge.This way, the Kingdom wouldn't go to chaos while he was invalid._Serpentine_ was also allowed to remain with them, as a gesture of good faith, and in case they needed emergency aid.

Now, on the third day of the new year, a council was convened in the marred Castle of Baron to discuss what steps could be taken to ensure that this would not happen again.

The idea had been to have a spokesperson from each Kingdom, but the Toroians were persnickety and sent in their entire council.With them was Edward, Yang, Rydia, and of course, Cecil and Rosa.Edge, for obvious reasons, was not able to attend, but Cecil planned on filling him in fully when he awoke.

In the background were Kain and Cid, always ready to toss in their two cents.

" . . . none of this would have happened if your peoples would have gotten a chance to warm up to one another," Yang was pointing out.

Cecil nodded.

"Exactly.And that's what I feel we need to address."

In unison, the Toroians each raised her left eyebrow.

"Explain," they prompted.

"We need a way for the people of our Kingdoms to get to understand one another," he obliged.

"That's rather hard, considering that we're all scattered across the world," Edward pointed out."How could we come to understand each other if we never see one another?"

Cid sighed loudly from his corner.

"Are you sure none of you planned this?!" he snapped, not really thrilled with the plan.

"Excuse me?"

Shaking his head, Cid stepped forward.

"What we propose to do," he sighed, "is to start a program of public relations.Cultural exchanges, and the like, so we don't end up killing each other over something that happened a hundred years ago."

"How?" asked the Toroians.

"How else?Put an Airship in every Kingdom!Not only would it offer greater protection from an insane ruler, but it really increases tourism."

"I like it!" Yang pronounced, considering the trade advantages."It could give everyone's economy a boost.But, um, how do you propose to go about this?"

Cid grumbled something under his breath.Cecil stifled a laugh.

"By . . . well, training your people to build and man their own Airships."

"Doesn't this place you at a disadvantage?" the Toroians inquired, still speaking in unison."As we all know, the Redwings are that which have made Baron such a powerhouse nation."

"This isn't about strength," Cecil told them all, feeling a little spooked by the Toroians' unity.They were freaky."It's about trying to unite the people of our world, and preventing another war from breaking out."

"Next thing, you'll want peace treaties," they sighed.

Cecil raised an eyebrow.

"Actually . . . "

"I'll sign it!" Yang exclaimed.

"Me too!" Edward chimed.

Rydia frowned slightly.

"Cecil, I only represent the Land of Summoned Monsters.I don't speak for them.You'd need to take it up with Leviathan."

"Yes, I know," he told her."But this way, you can relate everything that happens to him, and then bring us his answer.We can wait."

She nodded.

"What about King Giott?" Edward pointed out.

Cecil grimaced.

"He's . . . indisposed.But that's another story."

"Ah."

"So?"Rosa turned to the Toroians."Will you sign a peace treaty with the other Kingdoms?"

The seven Toroians turned and stared at one another for a moment.

"No," they replied."We prefer to remain neutral."

Cecil nodded.

"I see."

"What about Eblan?" Yang asked."How's Edge?Has he recovered any?"

"Not that we can tell," Rosa told him."We're just waiting.Physically, there's nothing wrong with him other than exhaustion, so we're letting him rest."

"He's been out for over two days."

"I know."

Yang settled back in his seat and said nothing more.

"At the moment, we're holding our position against Eblan," Cecil explained for everyone."We will not make any hostilities, but will defend ourselves if we must.Until Edge wakes up and we can settle things, that's all we can do."

Kain stood silently and let himself out of the room.Cecil noticed, but said nothing.Other than that, his departure went unseen.

Silently, he quickly went from the council chamber to the Barracks outside the Castle.This time, however, he wasn't heading for the areas sectioned for his own people this time.Rather, for one of the buildings that he'd avoided for as long as he could remember.

The main office and Barracks for the Knights.

"Hello?" he asked tentatively, peeking inside the office the head Knight held.

Jason glanced up at him, startled.

"Kain?"

"Hello," Kain repeated, stepping into the room."Euh . . . can I come in."

Jason shrugged.

"Refresh my memory," Kain suggested."Exactly how did you come to be in charge of the Knights again?"

"Because the guy who was in charge before got his head chopped off shortly before Cecil became King."

"Oh.Well . . . just thought I'd check and see how your positive thinking complex was doing."

Jason blinked blankly for a moment, then had to stifle a sudden laugh.He rose to greet his old - very old - friend.

"It's been a long time, Kain," he acknowledged, extending his hand."A very long time."

"Too long," Kain agreed, shaking his hand warmly."Which, of course, is why I'm really here."

"Of course.Let me guess: you think it's time we reconcile the differences between the Knights and Dragoons?"

"I do.That's an old feud that's caused us too much trouble.And it's utterly pointless."

"And?"

"And?If our people could suddenly end up roomed with an Eblanian Army and not break into violence, then I see no reason why two different casts of our own Kingdom shouldn't be able to get along."

"I see.I guess it makes sense.I can't argue with sense.How's Cecil handling everything?"

"Okay.Fortunately, everyone seems more excited right now about rebuilding the City than extracting revenge."

"That's a plus."

"I know."

Jason posed thoughtfully for a while.

"It really shouldn't be difficult.Get your people together with mine - especially during the reconstruction of the damaged parts of the Kingdom - and they should start getting along in no time."

"Agreed," Kain agreed.

"You know," Jason then pointed out, "you've got a very large position to fill, Kain.I myself know that _I_ couldn't handle being Sir Rorunar's successor.You've got a _lot_ to live up to."

"I know," the Dragoon replied."And I wish I considered myself a better authority.Really, I could've done with a few more years of training myself.I mean, Aromuth and I were the most inexperienced kids in the group.It would make me feel a little better if I had something more than theory to work off of."

"Don't worry.Rorunar had you pegged to take his place from the very beginning.Almost everyone noticed that except for you."

Kain raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so."

Cami charged through the corridors in the undamaged section of the Castle, where most activity had been moved.He'd been ordered to find Rosa and bring her quickly to Edge's room, and he knew exactly where she'd be this time of day: overseeing the White Wizard training.As the resident Master of the trade, it was her job to make sure nothing went wrong.

" . . . which makes the CURE spell far more convenient and safe then a Potion," Marion was explaining, being the guest instructor.While the _Rapier_ was being repaired, she said she'd just wait things out here, rather than return immediately to the Great Library."A Potion could be dangerous to a young person, depending on its potency and the stamina of the child.Anyone with an HP level of less then five could be seriously damaged.When necessary for use, it's best to dilute it, and administer the Potion orally.Whereas, they have a stronger effect on an adult when broken open and administered directly to the wounds, and are quite safe.Spells, however, are safe, family fun for all ages."

Rosa turned from where she was taking notes as Cami barged into the room.

"Queen Rosa!" he called."You're needed!"

"Is it Edge?"

"Yes - they think he's either waking up, or just having a delirious seizure."

Without pausing for clarification from her old instructor, Rosa snapped to her feet and followed the Dragoon to Edge's room.

Marion glanced after them.

"Well then!"She glanced back at the room full of Mages-to-Be."Class dismissed!"__

_ _

__Rosa assessed the situation in a heartbeat.Indeed, either he was regaining consciousness, or having a seizure.

"He's waking up," she pronounced, crossing the room to the Ninja's bedside, brushing past Cecil, Kain, and Rydia."Completely out of the coma, trapped in a deep sleep.And he seems to be having a nightmare.Has anyone tried to maybe wake him up?" she added in a mildly sarcastic voice.

"We tried," Rydia replied in a biting tone."It didn't work."

Frowning, the White Wizard glanced around the room, her gaze resting on Masamune, which was laying innocently on a bedside table beside a potted plant.

"That," she snapped, pointing at it."Rydia, you said that he said that it was messing with his subconscious.Let's see what happens if we throw it out the window."

Raising her eyebrows and grinning like a maniac, Rydia gingerly picked up the Sword and, when it didn't threaten her in any way, flung it out the window.

A scream was heard below.

"Whoops," Rydia shrugged.

Instantly, though, Edge stilled, almost in a spooky way.Then, just when they began to worry that he might be back in his coma, he rubbed his eyes and sat up with a groan.

"Dang it, that hurt," he grumbled under his breath.

"Edge!" Rydia exclaimed, dropping onto the bed beside him and grabbing him by the shoulders."Are you all right?!?!"

He looked up at her, and an icy chill ran through everyone in the room.There was something in his eyes that none of them had seen before - a cold certainty and pure horror that made their blood run cold.

"All right?" he repeated in a weak voice.

Rydia blinked, boring straight into his eyes with her wide, uncertain ones, trying to fathom the sudden change in him.

"Edge?"

Kain grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

"Masamune?" he inquired simply.

Edge looked up at him as if seeing the Dragoon for the first time.After staring blankly for a long moment, he nodded slowly.

"Always has to have the last word, I guess," he said in a low voice."But . . . that's just Masamune for you."

"What did it say?" Kain pressed, more alarmed at the change in Edge's persona than he was willing to admit.All he knew was that something was very, very wrong.

Edge looked down at his hands for a moment, frowning, as if surprised to see them on the ends of his arms.Then he looked back up.

"Where is it, anyway?"

"I threw it out a window," Rydia replied.

Edge nodded.

"Good idea."He sighed deeply, his whole frame seeming slighted somehow."It communicated with me for the last time."

"How do you know it's the last time?" Kain inquired skeptically.

"Because it's so weak.It used every bit of energy it had left stored on that last dream.Now it's gotta lie dormant until it can store up enough power to wreak havoc again."

"But what did it say?" Kain asked again.

Edge didn't answer.It didn't seem as if he'd even heard the question.

Instead, he pulled himself easily to his feet, as if the three-day sleep had fully revitalized him, and just stared at them all silently.

Rosa almost shuddered under his gaze.

"Edge, what is it?" she forced herself to ask, although she was suddenly certain that whatever it was, the implications were more than she could handle.

Blinking, he shook himself and looked at her again with an expression filled with mild surprise, as if he hadn't noticed she was there.But it was also filled with such an extreme sadness and grief that Rosa could almost read her fate in his eyes.

"What was that?" he asked.

She cleared her throat.

"What did Masamune say?"

He blinked slowly.

"Well," he murmured, "it showed me the future."He paused."_Our_ future."

The four exchanged a confused expression.

"What do you mean?" Kain asked, feeling as if he were being held on a very tight leash.

"I mean," Edge replied, carefully not looking at any of them, "that our dear friend Masamune took it upon itself to fill me in on what no living person should ever know."

"His own death . . . " Rydia whispered out of the blue, catching on.

Edge nodded.

"And not just that.The death of everyone in this room."Again, his gaze lingered slightly on Rosa, sending a chill up her spine."Exactly how, when, and why it will happen.And then on.The fate of our Kingdoms.How each eventually falls, how our descendants try to rebuild our civilization, and eventually to the point where everything here in our world is beyond forgotten.Reduced to vague legends, which I suppose is to be expected.It just changes things to see it all.Oh, and of course, the obliteration of our bloodlines, the destruction of our world, the obliteration of the human race . . . "

"Stop it!" Rosa snapped, chilled to the bone by the indifferent certainty with which he spoke."The future hasn't been written.It can be changed."

"Sure, we can change it.But the changes we make will all end up being exactly what Masamune has said."Edge stopped, realizing that his words didn't make sense."I can't quite explain it clearly.There are beings that exist outside of our reality, who can look at our existence like one big timeline.The past, and the future.The choices we have yet to make, they can already see, have already been recorded."He paused again."We haven't written it.Not yet.But they can still read it.I guess it's sort of like flying - you can see the world, but people on the ground can only see what's immediately around them.They don't know where they're going, but you can look ahead on the road and see where it leads."

"And . . . Masamune is one of these beings?" Cecil whispered, speaking for the first time since Edge had awoken.

Edge glanced at him in surprise, noticing his presence for the first time.

"Somewhat.Not fully - it can only see things during the time in which it has and will exist.Um . . . listen, this is all very strange.You know, talking to you all after seeing you die.It's very guiltful, you know, to not be babbling out details, when I know I can't, but feel like I have to.So, if you please, could someone be kind enough to wipe my memory?"

"_What_?!" Kain snapped in alarm at the very suggestion.Cecil, Rosa, and Rydia just stared at him in shock.

The Ninja shook his head.

"Not fully.Just enough . . . to wipe out what that stupid Sword said to me.I, euh, I really can't go on with this."

Rydia grabbed his hands.

"Edge," she said, "if you can see such terrible things, why can't you tell us?No matter what you say, isn't there some way we can change the path of things if we know what you've seen?Tell me that I'll be run down by a raving Dwarf in Toroia three months from now, so that I can make sure I'm not there!We can change things, Edge!Use what you've seen to help us all!"

Edge just shook his head.

"Rydia . . . I guess you'd have to be there.I can't change what's going to happen - no one can.It's all written.Just not yet."

"How could anyone wipe your memory, anyway?" Rosa pointed out."We don't know how to do any such thing."

"Rydia does.She knows a spell called AMNSA, which she came across one day studying in the Land of Summoned Monsters, and learned because she had a feeling she might need it some day," Edge informed everyone in a matter-of-fact voice.

Rydia choked on a gasp.

"How did you - "

"Don't ask."

Swallowing nervously, Rydia fell silent.

Edge shook his head.

"Everyone, I can see why you wouldn't want me to do this.But the fact of it is, if I don't, I will most assuredly go in_sane_."

Rosa had to nod.

"I have to agree . . . you would.Knowing everything that was about to happen . . . "

"So this is my choice.Only the dream, nothing more, to be erased from my memory.I'd rather not know any of this.And if only you could see it . . . you wouldn't want to know either."

"Is it that bad . . . " Cecil muttered under his breath.

"Actually," Edge admitted, "it's gratifying in a way.I'll say this . . . it was quite a finish."

Rydia glared at him.

"That is morbid," she informed him.

He nodded.

"I know."

Sighing, Rydia glanced at the other three.

"I guess I really don't have much choice," she conceded."I'll do it."

Edge nodded.

"Thank you."

She looked up at him and shuddered.The pain she could see in his eyes was too much for her to take.

"Hold still," she instructed, and he did so.Then, placing her hands against the sides of his face, she glanced quickly at Rosa, and looked up at Edge."Are you sure about this?" she whispered.

"Yes," he replied, his eyes glued to her face.

After a tiny sigh, Rydia began chanting the words she'd hoped to never use.

"Rydia," he murmured as she reached the end of the incantation, "you're beautiful to the very end."

All she could do was look back up at him, before AMNSA took effect, a magical tingle running through the air, and a flash of green light.

Then it was all over.

_ _


	15. In Which, Leviathan meets the Moogles.

13)---------- In Which, Leviathan meets the Moogles

13)---------- In Which, Leviathan meets the Moogles.

The next day, Rydia made her farewells to those in Baron, reminding them that she had been away from home for far too long, and Asura and Leviathan were probably getting antsy.

Edge did much the same - he had to return to Eblan and try to find a new cook.After the AMNSA was cast, and he'd had a moment to recover his senses, he'd been much as they'd always known him.Whatever knowledge had possessed him so was removed from his memory, allowing him to continue his life as he pleased.So, being himself again, he had work to do.

He and Rydia also retrieved Masamune and offered their extensive apologies to the Yokel below.

Rydia got past the City Walls and, as she normally did, Summoned Chocobo to give her a ride home.

He appeared in the customary green magical burst.

"About time you Called!" he admonished."Leviathan was starting to pace again.He hates it when you stay away so long.It bothers him."

"I know," Rydia replied."But with things going the way they've been, I couldn't have left."She vaulted up onto the bird's back, and he began the journey back."Bahamut taught me a new spell.Using that, I managed to release Edge, and we managed to intervene before Eblan conquered Baron.Then we just had to put everyone back together.So here I am."

"What kind of spell could he have taught you that would let you come out over Masamune?" Chocobo exclaimed, astonished.

"DRAIN9."

"Ah yes.That would do it."

As they drew near to the ocean which Chocobo normally took her across only by using the powers granted during a Summon, he stopped rather than going on.

"What is it?" Rydia asked.

"I think I should let you off here," he replied."Leviathan needs to talk to you."

She cringed and slid down off his back.

"Yeah, I figured he would.I just thought he'd wait till I got back."

"Well, there's also something you two need to do up here as soon as possible.So I'll catch you when you get back."

"Okay . . . I guess.Hey, are we still on with Jinn and Shiva for cards tomorrow?"

"As far as I know.We just weren't sure if you'd make it back in time!"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss that."

Chocobo waved a wing and vanished in a flash of green light, drawn back to the Land of Summoned Monsters.

With a sigh, Rydia began her incantation to Call Leviathan.

As she finished, the sea before her churned for a moment as the great Sea Serpent broke the surface of the ocean.

"Hello, Leviathan," she greeted formally.

He nodded.

"Hello, Rydia."

She gritted her teeth, knowing he wasn't going to make this easy.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper and made a big scene.And I shouldn't have Called Bahamut down inside without asking you first."

He nodded again.

"But you're right - you've been calm all the years you've been with us.I understand that you were frustrated . . . but you have to keep a lid on things like that.Bahamut has never taken very kindly to being brought into our land - at times, he's been downright bitter about it, and he can easily make life very miserable for us.In fact, I think he would have, if anyone other than you had Called him."

Rydia frowned.

"Why does it seem he has a special interest in me?"

Leviathan shrugged, lowering his head and allowing her to climb onto his back.

"Why do we all? A human has never lived among us, Rydia.You're a very special case for us all.Just be careful not to push your limits."

She grinned.

"Push my limits?And just what _are my limits?"_

"You're pushing them right now."

Laughing, she asked about what Chocobo had said.

"He told me that there was something we had to do," she explained.

Leviathan pushed away from the shore and glided easily through the water, keeping his head and just enough of his neck to hold Rydia above water.She sighed and, lulled by the swift and yet gentle motion, finally felt herself unwind and relax from everything that had taken place.There was a pause before Leviathan answered, and she just took this moment to look around at the ocean that surrounded them and reflect.

It was nice to not be running frantically to save the world.Yet, she had to admit, she rather enjoyed the thrill of it all.In retrospect.

"Bahamut has left a task for us.We need to make contact with two small animals who were released when your friend Cecil destroyed Masters."

"Masters?" she repeated, blinking, trying to remember exactly how the story they'd told her had gone."You mean those two little white things that helped Kain find Cecil?"

"Yes," Leviathan replied."Their race was sealed in such creatures thousands of years ago by . . . well, by one very sour Mage.At one point, one of the Masters was defeated and the two Mogs within were set free, and they set about trying to resurrect their race.Unfortunately, they met with an ill fate.No one knew that there was another of the monsters . . . one would roam the Earth every thousand years, no one knows how many there are, or what other races may be sealed within.But now, with the release of these two, we must meet with them and see what they require."

"Why?" Rydia inquired."Why not let them rebuild their society without us?"

"Because at one point, before they were sealed, there were certain Mogs which lived among us as Summoned Monsters.In fact, there was one who was partnered with Chocobo for a time.Then they broke free to join regular society, and had their run-in with that very sour Mage."

Rydia was about to say something, but had the words shocked out of her as they shot into the air.

"Leviathan - I didn't know you could fly!!"

"I can't," he replied."In the same way that Chocobo can cross the ocean when transporting you, any Summoned Monster can call on powers that are not their own during a Summon to complete their task.You know that."

Rydia shook her head.

"Yeah . . . I knew that.It just startled me."

"Yes, at one point, it startled me, too."

After flying for only a moment, they set down near Mt. Ordeals.

Rydia's first impulse upon seeing the two Mogs was to gather them up in her arms and cuddle.They reminded her of a stuffed toy she'd had when she was little.(C'mon – who _didn't_ have stuffed Mogs when they were little?)But some instinct told her not to tick off these two.

"Kupo kupo!!" one of them snapped, jumping up and down.

Leviathan glanced at Rydia.

"He wants to know what took us so long."Turning back to the Mog, he replied, "We came as fast as we could."

"Kupo kupo?"

"Yes, Cecil's recovered from fighting Masters."

"Kupo?"

"Yes."

"Kupo kupo kupo?"

"No, I don't think so."

The other stepped forward.

"Kupi kupoppo?"

Leviathan frowned.

"Yes, he's still with us."

"Kupi?"

"No, he doesn't have a new partner."

"Kupi."

Rydia blinked at the three of them, having no idea what was going on.

"Rydia," Leviathan introduced, "these are the creatures Cecil and Kain told you about.They are known as Mogs."

"Kupo kupo!!" came an angry snap.

Leviathan blinked.

"Hm . . . if you say so."

"Kupi kupoppo!"

"Yes, I know they did!I just didn't know if you felt the same way."

"Kupo."

"Fine."He shook his head."Scratch that," he told Rydia."They no longer wish to be known as Mogs.Now they are called Moogles."He frowned again."They think it's cuter."

"It is," Rydia agreed.

"Kupo!"

"All right," Leviathan told the Moogle."They think this will lead the enemy into a false sense of security, and give them an upper hand in battles that may come.Battles which, I might add, I am not waiting around to witness.Let's go, Rydia."

Without objection, she vaulted up onto his back, and they sped back to the Land of Summoned Monsters.

"They're going to begin their new village," Leviathan explained."And they want to be left alone and kept a secret until their numbers have grown.Do you think your friends can keep this somewhat quiet?"

"Somewhat," Rydia blandly answered."The story's already been spread throughout the Kingdom."

"Hm.Well . . . no one will find them if they don't want them to."


	16. Epilogue and Author's Notes

)---------- Epilogue and author's notes

)---------- Epilogue and author's notes

Cecil sighed.

_Kain's right – it's a new year.The past should finally be left behind.Why can I simply not leave well enough alone?_

Blinking a few times, he looked around him.

Mt. Ordeals.Back on the mountaintop where his life had been completely turned upside-down.He had to come back here.Something was left – he could feel it deep within his very spirit – something was still here.

_Father – your tie to this world you were forced to abandon by making me a Paladin – you sacrificed your final link to this life to save me and the world.But if it's not you, then what is it that's calling me here?What is it that I have left to do?_

A flash of light ran along the mirror-like crystal wall, as if something glowing shot by quicker than he could perceive.

"Hello?" he called quietly, tentatively.

_This place is the source of so much to me – yet I feel like such a stranger.It's like there's a connection between me and this place, but I can't quite hold on to it . . . like there's something on the very edge of my senses . . . _

Sighing, he bent and carefully placed his Sword and Shield on the shimmery floor, then kneeling before the mirrors and closing his eyes.

_For all this time, I've been a Holy Warrior – yet I've given next to no thought of meditation, prayer . . . all that Holy stuff.I don't know . . . how to be a _good_ Paladin . . . I don't know how I can give back for all that was done for me._

A wind picked up around him.

_. . . this place was here before the Lunarians came to Earth . . . there've been Paladins all throughout history.Father's spirit may have departed . . . but the powers must still be vortexed here.Perhaps it's them who are calling me . . ._

And abruptly he went flying forward as a sensation not unlike a kick in the head attacked him from an invisible force.

"Gah!!" he yelped, regaining his balance and turning to defend himself against – nothing?!

" – who's there?!" he snapped, spooked.

The sound of laughter reached him, but still he could see no form.Again, however, the flash of light ran around the chamber.

"No, _really,_" Cecil snapped, growing irritated as well as spooked."Who's there?"

"_You poor silly child – you have no clue what you're about, do you?"_

Cecil jumped noticeably – the voice came from all around him – a calm, mellow voice which seemed rather amused.

"Uh," was all he could say.

The wind around him picked up again, circling around him playfully.

"_If we wanted a champion who spent all his time praying and meditating, we'd have found one,"_ the voice explained."_Although we figured that such a champion probably wouldn't be very good at saving planets and ruling kingdoms.This is why we decided on you."_

"I thought my father chose me," Cecil heard himself say.

"_Your father _suggested_ you,"_ was the reply."_A single voice doesn't choose a Paladin.There was much arguing and gnashing of teeth as we tried to reach a consensus.In the end, we approved of you to receive the powers of Ordeals."_

"Why?"

"_For one, because we knew that you stood the best chance of succeeding.For two, it was said that the son of KluYa was necessary to fulfill the prophecy, and we felt that you'd have a better chance of doing so with our power in you."_

"But I was a warrior of darkness," Cecil objected, still surprised at the words coming out of his own mouth."I was corrupt and evil.I was weak-willed and faint of heart."

"_You were damaged, child, but not destroyed.Within you was always the potential for great goodness – your inner core was always one of purity and light . . . and that sort of thing.When we gave your our power, we reinforced that core to stand against the deep pains we knew your spirit would encounter.Your father was very grieved – but he knew it was necessary._"

"Necessary . . . "It struck an unpleasant ring within him, but Cecil was sound enough of mind to realize that it was true."And now?I've fulfilled my purpose.What more do you want of me?"

"_We want, young one, for you to acknowledge your own worth.You, as a ruler, hold within your hands the lives of many, many people.You ask how you can give back to us for the powers we've given you?Use them.Use those powers, use your sense, your mind, and your heart to rule them well.Even the greatest of nations often has faults – minor corruptions, small abuses – we want you to stand firm by your code of chivalry and by the code of the Paladin.And don't say anything – it's a lot harder than you realize just now.You've not ruled for long.Your oppositions have been mainly against darkness and obvious evils – you have yet to face the subtleties of the many faces of evil."_

" . . . and why have you called me here now?"

Again, laughter.

"_Well, aren't we the impatient one?Child, you have quite a task ahead of you.Being the champion of light is never easy.Yet you've already forgotten several loose ends and neglected several allies.Light and darkness are both required for balance.In all places there must be equal opposing forces of both good and evil to keep everything good and sturdy."_

__"You just said you want me to rule with light and goodness."

"_Darkness and evil can be present and controlled without ever being used, young one.In your own Kingdom, the balance was held for quite some time by a single figure, one who had much power at his disposal and little action.In fact, I believe he was your teacher?"_

"Rorunar?"

"_Yes, Rorunar."_

"A man of little action?!"

"_What he did he did of his own strength if possible.That particular representative of the Esper People had a superb mix of energies – you never saw more than a sliver of it.Really, although you probably didn't know it, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more honorable man alive, but he held within him a mastery of some of the darkest arts known to this world.Sometimes, young one, it is necessary to know evil well in order to defeat it.This was another factor that made you invaluable to us."_

Cecil mulled for a bit over that.It all seemed rather counterproductive to him. 

Then something in the voice's voice struck him.

" '. . . a more honorable man _alive_'?!"

The voice was silent for a moment, as if caught in a fib.

" . . . _well, yes.As I said, you've already forgotten several loose ends and neglected several allies."_

"Rorunar's still alive?!?!"

" _. . . somewhat.I wouldn't count on seeing him again, though.He's just an example.Also, as an Esper, he was Guardian of your territory.Now that he's gone, you will need to pick up his place as well as your own.Or find others to do so.You, of course, cannot hold evil within you without relinquishing your Paladin gifts."_

" . . . who are you?"

"_Ah!I wondered if you'd ever get to that.Many spirits inhabit this shrine, Paladin.Ordeals is not a single power or force.It is the combination of powers left by all other Holy Warriors throughout history.And as our energies remain, so do a part of our spirits."_

" . . . then why . . . why did my father have to depart after giving me the Sword?" Cecil asked, trying to get all this stuff straight in his head.

"_You said it yourself – you were, at the time, a Warrior of Darkness.That posed a problem.It required quite a bit of extra . . . ah, but that's getting pretty technical.I'm not about to explain to you exactly how we make Paladins.It was necessary.You must accept that."_

Cecil squinted around him, not liking all the necessary things that had happened.

"I have a question," interrupted a new voice from behind him, and Cecil turned with surprise to find Kain and Rydia standing in the entrance.

Again, the light winked throughout the chamber.

"_Yes, Dragon Knight?_"

"Not to get you away from the subject of Paladins, here, because I'm sure you both find that to be rather interesting, but you made an interesting comment involving Espers and Guardians?I don't get it."

"_Let the Caller explain._"

Rydia blinked at Cecil, who blinked back, wondering why the two of them were there.

"Er . . . well, take an example.My village, Mist, was guarded by . . . Mist.The Mist Dragon.She was the Guardian of the region.All major dwellings and/or cities have a Guardian of some sort – she was just one of the more obvious ones.Generally, they keep the darker powers away with little trouble, but even they can be overwhelmed, as we all saw.Odin had been living in the basement of Castle Baron for some time – I guess that when your Sir Rorunar spent all those years frozen underground, Odin stepped in to take over the region.They had quite a squabble when Rorunar returned.Odin ended up stepping down because Shiva blackmailed him, but he stayed down there to sulk.Then, after Rorunar was killed – "

"_Somewhat."_

" – whatever, Odin tried to take the balance back into his own hands, but completely blew it.I'm actually pretty amazed he was willing to help us at all, even after we defeated him."

"Then . . . " Cecil tried to get _this_ straight in his mind, " . . . who's Guardian of Baron _now_?"

"_This is where _you_ come in, Paladin!"_The voice sounded cruelly cheerful and chipper."_You don't have one.You'll be hard-pressed indeed to find an Esper willing to step in where a Fiend so recently held office.The balance of good and evil is entirely in your hands."_

"Oh, peachy."

"_It's also where _you_ come in,"_ the voice continued, emitting a blinding flash of light in Kain's face."_For you have quite an extensive understanding of evil.I know, I know – your will was subverted and you had no control – but you still had the experience."_

"Don't remind me."

"_Tough.Heck, you've even been dead a few times.All this helps.I'm quite sure you can manage between the pair of you.Dismissed._"

The three of them blinked, completely startled and even more completely confused.

Cecil cleared his throat.

"Um?"

No response came.

Shaking his head, completely bemused, the Paladin at last rose to face his companions head on.

"What are you doing here?"

Kain and Rydia exchanged glances and shrugged.

"We have no idea."

" . . . do any of you have any idea what that was all about?"

Kain blinked.

"I guess they're trying to tell us that our work isn't yet finished."

Rydia sighed.

"Gosh darn it.I _so_ need a vacation."She turned to exit the chamber."Well, are you coming?I'm not sure how we all got here, but I'll have Chocobo give us all a ride back home."

Sighing back, the two Warriors followed at a distance.

"Will life ever make sense again, do you think?" Cecil asked, a bit weary in tone.

Kain grinned.

"Did it ever?Cheer up.So, a ghost tells you to take on the world.It could be worse."

"How?" Cecil asked, surly.

Kain only grinned wider.

"They could switch our roles.I could be the ultimate good guy, and _you_ could be the little keeper of darkness."

Cecil blinked.

"True.Very true."

They reached the foot of the mountain and waited as Rydia chanted to Summon her yellow buddy.Cecil, noting something shiny at his feet, bent to inspect it more thoroughly and found it to be one of Masters' purple scales which had somehow survived the scavenging carrion birds.

For some reason, this struck him to be outrageously funny, and he burst out laughing.Earning odd looks from his companion, he simply grinned and began singing.

"It's good to be King, just for a while . . . " 

)---------- Disclaimer: Annie's Final Thought

"It's that time again!"

"To floss?"

"To make bubbles with our spit?"

"No, it's time to learn the moral of today's story!And to do that, we turn to . . . the WHEEL OF MORALITY!Wheel of Morality, turn turn turn.Tell us the lesson that we should learn."

Okay, everyone, if you haven't caught on to my morals by now, one of us must be stupid.Either you, for not getting something so obvious, or me, for not making everything so painfully obvious as I thought I was.The deal is this: War sucks, and always trust a friend over a Royal Advisor.Just because the King of Dragons says you can't do something doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and do it anyway.Never trust an evil sword.Don't eat the jelly flavored jelly.Scare the Yokels whenever possible; it's a lot of fun.Sucking up can be a good thing.Turning purple and growing a tail usually aren't.Don't be embarrassed after saving the world.When your chocobo is running out of juice, prompt him with thoughts of warm stables and **_food, lots of _****_food.Never trust a spittin' moron.It's what's in the heart that counts.If no one believes you've seen a monster, show them your bloody stick.Never trust an evil cook.When all else fails, give a speech.If it seems too easy, deal with it later._**

And above all, everyone, don't let people tear you down for doing what you know is right.Press your point, and eventually someone's going to be forced to listen, whether it's an army of confused soldiers on the verge of attack, or your friend who still thinks it's cool to sniff nerve gas.One person _can make a difference.*sigh*Okay, moment over._

Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Cid, KluYa, Golbez, Yang, Edward (was he even in this story?I forget!), Edge, Rydia, the Mysidian Elder, Palom, Porom (both of which were, I think, mentioned once in there), King Baron, the X-King of Eblan, Baigan, Masamune, Aeris (who isn't quite mentioned, just alluded to in the opening dream sequence), Sephiroth (likewise), the guy at the Inn (whom I have had the honor of naming Albion, although to my knowledge, he has no official name), the spooky Toroian Clerics, and all Summoned Monsters who made an appearance (that's not including certain beings mentioned during Leviathan and Asura's little chat about Rydia wearing white), are property of Squaresoft.I'm sure I missed some others in there too, but you get my drift.

Max, Cami, Lori, Thomas, Veronica, Matryad, Alexandria, Cid's mother, Cid's father, Julia, Dad, Michael, Abraham, Phil, Torram, Techie, that poor Eblanian kid whom Kain almost slaughtered, Jason, Uriat, Kormag, Aromuth, Timothy, Chia (That's right, Edward _was in this story!), gracious, there are a lot of characters here, aren't there?, the Eblanian Conspirators, Marion, the various nameless characters from just about everywhere, and of course, my dear Sir Rorunar are my own, along with probably another slew that I've forgotten about.Do any of us care anyway?_

The original concept of this story started after my dear friend Clovis told me of a dream he'd had, featuring a large, purple monster named Masters' who had a haircut like Matt Maffatt***.Somehow, it took off.So anyway, Masters is property of Clovis' subconscious.

_Serpentine was named in honor of my passing the Serpentine portion of Drivers' Ed.The other Airships, with the exceptions of the already-named __Enterprise and __Falcon, were named by myself simply because that's what I felt like naming them._

A brownie point for anyone who can say why the Moogles each had a different comment.

Did everyone like this little tale?It's only about 3 years later than I'd planned on completing it and shipping it out all over the Internet - not so bad, huh?See, I have this horrible habit of overworking stuff, and so I probably would have been better off posting this three years ago.I didn't.Then, the more I learned about Medieval society and battle tactics, the more I went back and changed.I know it's still highly flawed, and if there are any other history majors out there, please don't beat or taunt me.I'm fragile.

This story was originally a drama.Again, though, my overworking kicked in, and one year after first writing it, everything dramatic just seemed cheesy, so I began replacing everything with silly comments and stupid yokels being wounded accidentally.The entire epilogue I originally wrote has been scrapped.It sucked.In case you're curious, it involves yet another trip to Mt. Ordeals, a chat with another ghost (KluYa, to be exact), some very sappy crap goin' on (you all know how much I _love that sappy crap - why do you think I took it out?), and an insight of life after death, as well as the song which is still gracing the end of this story._

UPDATE: the epilogue I wrote to replace the original epilogue has been replaced with this epilogue.I lost the other one.Don't ask why – the reason involves federal agents and disgruntled postal workers.

I would like to extend a thank you to Mr. Mark Twain, for introducing me (through our High School production of Big River) to the term "Yokel."

I dedicate the song to Matt Maffat***.Even if he seems to hate my guts.

**(**Along this note, I have just, at the last moment (I think) decided to make yet another change.Has everyone by now realized why this sucker has taken so long?Rorunar had, up until a moment ago, been depicted by a fife; however, I, on a power trip and Mannheim Steamroller kick, have just changed all references of such to a recorder-like instrument capable of playing a specific rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" which has _so captured my heart in the past five days.It's a phase.Before I'm through, I may just change him to trumpet to satisfy my own brass ego, or maybe give Cid a startling affinity for the oboe.**)**_

****The preceding paragraph was written about a year and a half ago.The fact of the matter is, though, that Rorunar's affinity for musical instruments should come into play in later stories.Anyway, continuing on:

THE BARONIAN ROYAL MARCHING BAND!!!

Featuring

Cecil: Mellophone

Kain: Sousaphone

Rosa: Baritone

Cid: Cowbell 

Hey.It could happen.Look!Here comes Edge with a Bari Sax!And hark!It's the rotting and decaying body of Tellah carting along a flugelhorn!Yippee!

You know, when I wrote Black Lightning and Red Eyes, it was the biggest deal in the world for me because it was exactly 50 pages long.I wrote a 50 page fic!Wow!Then I come to this one, where chapter 8 alone is 80 pages, and, well . . . never mind.Just never mind.

This is my first FF fic where Kain did not die.I'm sure he's relieved.After "Don't Jump, Kain, Don't Jump", and his double-death in Lighting, he's spent enough dead time for the next couple of tales, I think.Maybe.Instead, I kill off his teacher, who makes an interesting reappearance in the upcoming fic: Venus Admonition.You're probably dripping with anticipation.Anyway, though, for anyone who may be wondering, his being dead will eventually have a point later in the series.

I really got a kick out of writing this one.It gave me a chance to attempt to be dramatic, and still be silly all in the same story.Hee!The power!

NOTE: just about every other sentence contains an inside joke of some sort.There are very few people on the face of this planet who would be able to grasp the full humor of this (Clovis), but that's okay!Why?Because I am Fighting Otter, Giant Butterfly!Look!An owl!Head 'em up and MOVE 'EM OUT!AR!AR!AR!

Every kick in the shin is lovingly dedicated to my dear friend Gloria.Even if she, I think, hates Final Fantasy.And just so everyone knows I'm not writing for lack of experience, my own shins have been kicked on numerous occasions.And let me tell you - it hurts like a mother monkey!

Now, I don't want anyone accusing me of plagiarism.I realize that there are many tales of Masamune and his evil, but I don't intend to be copying any of them.Just adding my own insight.Just as I know I'm not the only one to voice the aftereffects of a war between Baron and Eblan, which I don't believe was mentioned in the game, but still seems to be another common theme.C'mon!There has to be war somewhere - why else would Baron have built itself an air force?Not simply to annoy local crystal-hoarding Elders, I nearly guarantee it.

Okay, I was about on my second revision when I began playing the Japanese hard-type version of this game, and I realize that my story conflicts in many ways.But that's okay!This is fan fiction!We're aloud to make things up!

Fie on thee who canceled Knuckled the Echidna, the greatest comic book ever written!

(If you read this entire fic, you probably have a lot of time on your hands.This being the case, allow me to recommend some specific time-killers.First of all, there is a book.It is called Five Hundred Years After, and it is written by a gentleman known as Steven Brust.I recommend it.Why?Cause it's @#$%! awesome!!Take that!Also, while satisfying your desire for conspiracy and magic and swords and a very unique writing style such as Brust employs, why not make like my own Mathe self and jam along to my latest kick . . . Mannheim Steamroller?While, of course, savoring several handfuls of Dan-Dee Corn Twists . . . with a large glass of Pepsi at your side . . . during the commercials of Ronin Warriors . . . ah, bliss.

It's Christmas.I'm allowed to go on such tangents.)

The preceding paragraph was written last Christmas.In case you're wondering, I didn't feel like writing a whole new disclaimer, so I'm trying to salvage what I already had.

So let's discuss this fic a bit, and why I wrote it the way I did.I realize that I probably annoy many people because I have a lot of down time.You could, if you wanted to, probably take everything after chapter eight with a little bit of chapter two and be done with it.I guess I have this big ol' thang goin' on with character development.I did a crappy job of it in Lighting, and I think tried to make up for it here.By the time I was done and revising, I didn't have the heart to cut half of it, and figured that a little down time of talking and thinking doesn't really seem threatening.The point of the Masters' Poison section of this fic was pretty much to say that we can't run from our past if we want to shape our future in a pleasant manner.C'mon, we've all seen the Lion King.Hakuna Matata does _not work, and sometimes we all need a poison-induced flashback to remind us of things we may have tried to forget.Cecil and Kain had pretty much been determined not to get into any of the events that had transpired just prior to the game, and would have continued to not do so had not a certain student of our favorite Dragoon suddenly sprouted a tail.Once forced into discussion, however, they managed to get things resolved rather well, I think, and LO!Just in time to face yet another impending disaster!They have a lot of disasters in Baron, but that's okay.Disaster builds character.However, this does not mean I am prompting you all to go out and cause your own disaster.When used in moderation, it does indeed build character - however, as was illustrated (I hope) in this tale, it can also destroy the very characters it attempts to build . . . that, along with several buildings, an Airship propeller, Edge's temper . . ._

Blood feuds suck.If you see a hundred years of war going on, for heaven's sake, try to stop it (or call Jerry Springer)!I don't know why the war broke out between Baron and Eblan.Cecil and Edge have not seen fit to tell me when I mentioned I was writing this tale.It's quite possible that they themselves don't know.Yet, had not Zeromus interfered when he did in the game, it would have likely continued indefinitely.At least, it would have continued until one or both Kingdom's were wiped out.And then where would we be?It would, in a word, suck.

Edge's section of the fic is meant to be a bit darker than that of his Baronian Buddies.As if theirs isn't dark enough - he gets to be the ghost!But he just goes to show - everyone in your Kingdom may be against you, but that doesn't mean you can give in if you know you're right.If Kormag had had his way, this story would have had an early ending: Eblan attacks Baron head on earlier in the year, Baron blows them away, most likely, and the story is over.And just because maybe the person who's supposed to give you your best advice tells you that your friends are really evil and out to destroy you doesn't mean that they are.Only you can make that decision, and if necessary, you have my permission to tell your Royal Advisors at home to shove it and stick with those who have earned your trust.Just . . . make sure you know what you're doing first.But I'm starting to sound like an after-school special.Back to the fic.

Poor Edge is faced with quite a dilemma.His people are about to make the greatest error of their lives, and he is unable to do anything but yell at a faltering Dragoon halfway across the world.Maybe, maybe not, we'll never know if indeed, it might have been better if he'd allowed Baron to conquer Eblan.If indeed, Cecil would be able to bring some order to the crazed populace, we'll never be certain.This may have been a simple and adequate solution, and he could take it as a given that if indeed he were conquered, no harm would come to him when and if he escaped from Masamune.But rather than risk it, he, along with Rydia's unexpected aid, did manage to prevent the war from occurring, and now that Kormag is out of his way and a new government is in place, he can finally begin the tedious task of rebuilding his Kingdom.However difficult it may turn out to be, he at least knows he's not alone.

None of us are meant to know the future, as I see it, except perhaps for a chosen few biblically referred to as Prophets, and if we are not among those few, we have no right to seek what lies ahead.I don't see how anything could be more terrifying in life than seeing one's own death as it will happen, along with all the other horrors Masamune inflicted upon Edge's mind.This would be the end of sanity in any case, which is never a good thing.Be relieved that we don't know the answers to everything.Infallibility would be a bore.

Rydia gets the fun part of this story.She alone gets to strike a blow against the great Masamune.She's certainly now the most well-traveled member of the party, hitting several points of the world weekly with her good buddy: Chocobo.I was going to have another section of this story somewhere between when she escaped from Eblan and when she makes her drastic Summoning of Bahamut against Leviathan's wishes where she ends up in Baron with the intent of warning the Baronians of what lies ahead from Eblan's end of things.This would lead Edge's ghost into a deep and thought provoking chat with Kain involving a piece of cheese, which I decided against using because I already had too much down time in this stinkin' fic.

Next time . . . 

Next time, we'll just have to wait and see.The characters are their own.I just write them down.Because for every Final Fantasy, there is another waiting to be realized.

Anna-mathe Echidna

echidna@neobright.net

"When you breathe, you inspire.When you do not breathe, you _expire."_

An interesting theory was put forth by my pal Em* once in band.We were sitting in the stands watching our football team getting clobbered, and I'd been discussing a matter of this game with my squadling, Golden Tiger**, and she, listening, says:

"Maybe Cecil can regenerate.I'd bet that if you cut his chest open, he wouldn't have a heart.He'd have a starfish!"

That's not a direct quote, I can't remember exactly what she said.But something to that effect.

I'm still trying to remember what GT and I had been talking about that would have prompted this.Maybe some things are better left un-remembered._Starfish?Jeez!Why didn't I__ think of that?!?!_

" . . . and we went into a tailspin and crashed into a hillside and the plane exploded in this giant fireball and everybody died!!! . . . except for me!Wanna know why?!

"Because I had my tray table up!And my seat back in the full upright position! . . . "

So one day I'm giving my friend Amy*** a ride home after school, and I get out of the car to see if she needs any help lugging her stuff inside, and this big ol' cat comes up and jumps right into the front seat!It was weird!She told me that this cat has mental problems.

Yet another case for my mother, the counselor.

Don't ask why I'm putting all this stuff here.

A big hello to my L.A. teachers!HELLO!!!!!!!HELLO, MRS. LAIRSON AND MRS. WILKING!!!I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Clovis, when are we ever going to get around to starting that rock band?

What does everyone think of a Chaotix/Reboot crossover?You know: "Warning, Incoming game!"

"Bob, look!There's a blue hedgehog coming at us!"

"Glitch!Stat!"?"It's a . . . Sonic the Hedgehog game!We're dead!He'll nullify us all!!"

* - name altered slightly for this publication.

** - Internet handle.His name is Sir Boco****.

*** - name may be altered or changed . . . or maybe it's not.You'll never know.

**** - no, his real name isn't Sir Boco, either.


End file.
